Bani Yas hope to sign Blackburns Formica

Monday, Jul 01, 2013

Abu Dhabi: Argentinian attacking midfielder Mauro Formica looks set to join Bani Yas from English Championship side Blackburn Rovers, subject to a medical.

The 25-year-old former Newell’s Old Boys player has spent the last six months on loan in Italy with Palermo and will now replace outgoing Egyptian striker Mohammad Zidan at the Sky Blues.

Formica’s expected arrival will complete the Abu Dhabi club’s allocation of foreign players following the retention of Senegalese striker Andre Senghor and Swedish winger Christian Wilhelmsson, plus the arrival of Omani defender Abdul Salam Al Mukhaini to replace Australian Nicky Carle in the Asian player slot. Bani Yas also have a new coach in Uruguayan Jorge Da Silva.

Deputy chairman Mubarak Awad said: “He’s [Formica] a second striker and he will be our last foreign player. He is having a medical and on Monday we will look to sign him. If everything goes well he will go straight into the team.”

Formica apparently beat 24-year-old Chilean striker Carlos Munoz of Colo Colo and 29-year-old Argentinian midfielder Victor Figueroa of Newell’s Old Boys to a contract with the Abu Dhabi club.

Elsewhere in Abu Dhabi, Al Wahda now only need an Asian player after new coach Karel Jarolim contracted Argentinian forwards Damien Diaz and Sebastian Tagliabue from Ecuador’s Barcelona and Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab respectively. Chilean midfielder Marco Estrada is another new signing after the departures of Papa Waigo, Marcelinho, Srdan Andric and Eric Mouloungui.

Meanwhile, Al Jazira missed out on the signing of Moroccan winger Younes Belhanda, who instead joined Dynamo Kiev from Montpellier.

By Ashley Hammond Staff Reporter