Youssef Mohamad signing ends speculation of Harry Kewell joining Al Ahli

Former Lebanon captain will join the Dubai club once he has been given the green light to join by his present club Koln in the German Bundesliga.

DUBAI // Al Ahli have put an end to reports linking them with a move for the Australia forward Harry Kewell by signing Youssef Mohamad, the former Lebanon captain.

Mohamad, a 31-year-old defender who has played for Freiburg and Koln in the German Bundesliga since 2004, arrived at the Dubai club on Tuesday for his medical.

A deal is expected to be formalised once Ahli and the player get the green light from his current club Koln.

If the deal goes through, Mohamad will be Ahli's fourth foreign recruit alongside Grafite, Jackon Coelho and Luis Jimenez. He will take the mandatory Asian player's spot among Ahli's foreign players in accordance to the Asian Football Confederation's 3+1 rule.

"The player and Ahli have agreed a deal," said a club spokesman. "Mohamad, however, still has two years left on his contract with Koln and we are in negotiations with the club.

"The talks are moving in the right direction and we are really keen to get one of Asia's best defenders on board. Mohamad has been playing in one of the toughest football leagues for the last eight years and he was even the captain at Koln.

"So I believe we have got four great [foreign] players with us and a very good coach [Ivan Hasek]. The camp [in Australia] is going really well and I hope we will have a good season ahead."

According to reports, Koln want €2 million (Dh10.6m) for the player and will agree to a deal only if they a find a replacement.