Al Shabab’s recipe for completing their foreign contingent is ‘cooking slowly’

The Dubai club is in negotiations with various clubs regarding a replacement for Edgar Bruno, but will do business only when they are ready, reports John McAuley.

Al Shabab's Azizbek Haydarov is one of three foreign players the Dubai club has retained for next season. They are still looking for a fourth. Sarah Dea/The National

DUBAI // Al Shabab are considering a number of options to spearhead the club’s fight for major honours next season, although they maintain they are in no rush to complete their foreign contingent.

The Dubai side, who finished third in the 2014/15 Arabian Gulf League, remain in the market for one expatriate after deciding last month to release striker Edgar Bruno. Azizbek Haydarov, Carlos Villanueva and Henrique Luvannor have been retained.

Shabab have contacted various clubs regarding possible replacements for Bruno, however no offers have been confirmed as of yet. They possess strong contacts in South America, particularly in Brazil, and anticipate their new signing will again come from that region.

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Despite their UAE rivals having already been busy in the transfer window, Shabab insist they will continue to bide their time. The squad returns for pre-season training on July 22.

“The board have decided the targets with the coach, but until now we haven’t confirmed who the replacement will be,” said Obaid Hubaitha, the Shabab team manager. “Negotiations with a few players are ongoing, but we still have a lot of issues to resolve. It’s cooking slowly.

“We have a couple of targets. We’ve sent offers and are waiting for confirmation of approval and then we’ll take the next step.”

Shabab are seeking to improve on last season’s performance, when Caio Junior led the club to third in the UAE top flight as well as the semi-finals of the President’s Cup and Arabian Gulf Cup. They were eliminated from both competitions on penalties. Shabab did conclude the campaign with silverware, defeating Oman’s Al Seeb in May’s GCC Clubs Championship final.

They have different objectives now, though, since their league finish sealed a spot in the preliminary round of next year’s Asian Champions League. They last contested the tournament in 2013.

Adding a top-class striker therefore represents their priority, as the club pursue an improvement on Bruno. The 29-year-old Brazilian enjoyed his first two seasons at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, scoring 29 goals in 45 league appearances. Yet he struggled last term, netting eight times in 25 league matches.

Shabab feel, had they a more potent forward, they would not have finished 11 points behind champions Al Ain.

“Edgar was a fantastic player, but unfortunately was unlucky last season,” Hubaitha said. “The season before he was excellent. If we had someone in Edgar’s place that scored maybe 15 goals we could have been champions. So we want someone who can make a real difference.

“To be honest, we wanted more from last season. It was good, but we didn’t win any domestic titles; our aim was to at least get the President’s Cup.

“So next year we’re looking for something better: to fight for the championship and we also have the Asian Champions League, where our target is to qualify for the groups. It’s going to be a tough season, but we’re prepared to fight for it.”

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