Al Wasl are attempting to push through a deal for AEK Athens winger Helder Barbosa.
The Dubai club, who have one final foreign slot remaining for the 2016/17 Arabian Gulf League season, have identified the Portuguese as their main target, but have a number of other options should the transfer not materialise.
Wasl initially offered to take Barbosa on loan, however AEK have said they will consider only a permanent deal. Hugo Viana, the midfielder who left Wasl this summer following two seasons with the club, has helped facilitate the deal.
Barbosa, 29, moved to AEK from Portugal’s Braga in 2014 and went on to make 69 appearances for the Greek side, scoring 15 goals. He began his career in 2006 with Porto, but did not make much of an impression and was subsequently loaned out to numerous Portuguese clubs.
Barbosa enjoyed a relatively productive four years at Braga from 2010, scoring 18 times in 108 appearances and winning the Portuguese Cup, although he did spend his final season on loan to Spain’s Almeria.
With AEK, Barbosa helped the club claim the 2014/15 second-tier title as they gained promotion to the Greek Superleague.
Wasl view Barbosa, who can play anywhere on both flanks or as a No 10, as the perfect foil for attacking triumvirate Caio, Fabio De Lima and Ronaldo Mendes, with the latter joining the club earlier this summer.
Sidelined striker Edgar Bruno left the Zabeel Stadium side last week to sign for Turkey’s Adanaspor, while new manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena continues to make the final preparations for his first season in UAE football. Wasl finished sixth in the 2015/16 Arabian Gulf League.
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
