Brazilian Fellipe Bastos was confident that he could provide Al Ain with the much-needed depth they were looking forward to in the central midfield to retaining their supremacy in the local league and for emerging as a force in the region.
Bastos, who was on loan to Gremio from Vasco da Gama, speaking about his new three-year deal with Al Ain after being officially unveiled to the media late on Thursday said: “It is such a joy to be here at Al Ain and to get that warm welcome from the board members and fans. I had heard good things about Al Ain from my friends and hence, decided to make the switch when the offer came in.”
“I have come to a club that is always fighting for titles in the continent and is the current national champion. They have a vision and good structure in place and I’m pretty impressed with what I have seen so far,” added Bastos, who will be donning the No 6 Jersey at Al Ain.
Al Ain have parted ways with their star Ghanaian recruit and prolific scorer Asamoah Gyan and have also roped in Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike on loan from Turkish Club Fenerbahce. He was scheduled to be officially unveiled late on Friday. However, Emenike has not made much of an impact in the Turkish League and has scored just four goals in the Super League’s 27 appearances, last season.
With these signings, Al Ain have complete their quota of all foreign recruits and it is clear that they have not managed a suitable replacement of a player of Gyan’s stature. However, team supervisor Mohammad Obaid Hammad begs to differ and is banking on his long list of national players to deliver the goods.
“We have around seven players who are from the national team and we are very confident that they will keep up the goodwork,” said Hammad, adding,“There is no doubt that Gyan has been a great asset to the team but we had to release him with the offer he was getting. However, that has not weakened the team in anyway and he still has the potential to do well against the best.”
Hammad also brushed aside the news on the social media that Al Ain were looking at parting ways with some of the national players.
“These things are completely untrue but yes, Al Ain have always served other clubs in the past by giving players on loan and will continue to do so. However, as of now, nothing is in the pipeline and we will inform the media if we plan anything like that.”
