Al Jazira are in talks to sign the Morocco left-winger Mubarak Boussoufa according to Gulf News, a move which is likely to end the Brazilian schemer Thiago Neves’s one-year spell at the Abu Dhabi club.
The 31-year-old is contracted to Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow, but spent the latter part of last season on loan at Ghent.
The Amsterdam-born Boussoufa started his career at the Belgian club in 2004 and has scored six times in 40 appearances for Morocco.
According to an Al Jazira source, Boussoufa is set to pen a two-year deal with the Pride of Abu Dhabi and will shortly join their pre-season tour of the Netherlands and Germany.
The source added that Neves, who moved to Al Jazira from Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal only last summer and who scored seven times in 21 appearances in 2015-16, is expected to make way for Boussoufa.
Al Jazira confirmed earlier this summer that they will retain the Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic and the South Korean midfielder Park Jong-woo as part of their foreign contingent for the new season.
They are meanwhile expected to offload their Spanish midfielder Angel Lafita and Peruvian winger Jefferson Farfan along with Neves.
As Gulf News reported on Wednesday, the 31-year-old Farfan had told a South American website that he was interested in a move back to Europe. Farfan joined Al Jazira from Germany’s Schalke 04 last summer, having previously represented the Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.
Elsewhere, Al Jazira’s Abu Dhabi rivals Al Wahda were on Wednesday set to recruit the Brazilian attacking midfielder Tiago Alves Sales on a two-year deal from Santos.
As Gulf News reported on Tuesday, the Clarets moved for the 23-year-old after the departure of their other Brazilian midfielder Denilson to Cruzeiro on a six-month loan.
