Manchester City audaciously tried to land Kaka this time last year but they had to be content with the signing of Adam Johnson, the England Under 21 left winger from Middlesbrough, as the transfer window closed last night.
City have reportedly paid between £5million (Dh29.1m) and £7million for the 22-year-old who would have been available on a free transfer in the summer.
"We are delighted that Adam has chosen to come here," said Roberto Mancini, the City manager. "He is a very good player with fantastic potential, and as a club we are always keen to sign British talent."
McDonald Mariga, the Kenyan, will not be joining him at Eastlands after the Parma defensive midfielder failed to get a work permit because of his country's world ranking.
Meanwhile, Robbie Keane was on the verge of joining Celtic on loan from Tottenham last night. "It's a good move," said Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager. "Robbie needs to play. He's too good a player not to be starting here regularly."
Wigan boosted their goal-scoring options by signing Marcelo Moreno, the Bolivia striker, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk until the end of the season, subject to visa and international clearance, and Victor Moses from Crystal Palace for £2.5m.
West Ham signed Benni McCarthy, from Blackburn Rovers, and Ilan, the Brazilian, who has been released by St Etienne.
Burnley re-signed striker David Nugent on loan until the end of the season from Portsmouth while Sunderland have taken Tottenham's Alan Hutton on loan until the summer.
Roy Hodgson sought to end Fulham's five-match losing streak by signing Stefano Okaka, the Italy U21 international, on a six-month loan deal from Roma and Nicky Shorey, the left-back, on loan from Aston Villa.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Teaching in coronavirus times
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
TO CATCH A KILLER
Director: Damian Szifron
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Ralph Ineson
Rating: 2/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
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