Al Ain have completed the signing of Bakary Sare, a midfielder from Ivory Coast, from the Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.
The UAE champions have moved quickly to take their foreign contingent back to the Arabian Gulf League's allotted four, following Michel Bastos's loan switch to Roma, the Italian Serie A club.
The Bastos deal has yet to be finalised, although Al Ain fully expect the transfer to go through. The agreement includes the option to make it permanent should the temporary spell prove successful.
However, it is unclear whether Sare is viewed as a direct replacement for the Brazilian winger, as thus far in his career he has been employed primarily as a defensive midfielder. He arrives on a six-month loan.
Sare, 23, made his debut in 2007 for Anderlecht in the Belgian top flight, and went on to spend four years with the club, featuring in the Uefa Champions League and the Europa League.
Yet he never managed to hold down a first-team spot, and was loaned to Norway’s Rosenborg before transferring to Cluj, the Romanian side, in 2011. Sare then joined Dinamo last July.
Given his position, his arrival will increase speculation that Mirel Radoi, the Al Ain midfielder, could be on his way out of the club. The Romanian’s future has been the subject of much conjecture for the past few months, with reports linking him with sides throughout the Arabian Gulf.
Radoi, 32, has recently returned from an injury sustained in November’s defeat at title rivals Al Ahli. He has made nine league appearances this campaign.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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