Al Jazira bolster squad with Batna signing

Al Jazira announced the signing of the prolific Moroccan forward Mourad Batna on a free transfer. Batna, 29, moves from Al Wahda club and will join his new ‘Pride of Abu Dhabi’ team-mates for the first time at the ongoing summer training camp of the team in the Netherlands.

Born in the Moroccan city of Agadir, Batna who plays mainly as a right winger, can also play as a second striker and centre-forward.

Batna brings plenty of experience to Al Jazira having played for Hassania Agadir and FUS Rabat in Morocco, Emirates Club in the UAE prior to joining Al Wahda Club in 2017.

The forward displayed a series of strong performances in the UAE Gulf League in the 2018-19 season, scoring eight goals and assisting another five in just 10 appearances for Al Wahda.

Ayed Mabkhout Al Hajeri, board member of Al Jazira Club and CEO of the Football Company said: “We are delighted to welcome Mourad to our club and we look forward to him joining his teammates at the pre-season training camp in the Netherlands.

“We wish him and all his team-mates a great season ahead and hope to see them be part of the club success in the coming season.” Jurgen Streppel, newly appointed head coach of Al Jazira FC said: “I believe that Batna will be able to perform well in all competitions for the club.

“I have a lot of faith in his ability and the value he will add to the team’s overall performance. He has good amount of experience in the UAE under his belt which is always a plus point.

“I am sure he will be able to integrate into the team quickly thanks to the excellent team spirit prevailing at Al Jazira.”

Batna added: “I am excited for my new journey with Al Jazira and am eager to join my new team-mates at the preseason camp in Netherlands. I look forward to working with Jurgen Streppel and his coaching staff and playing good football with my new colleagues. “Al Jazira FC has some of the best local and international players in their team with a world-class infrastructure and one of the best football academies in the region. “I look forward to being part of the club’s commitment to compete at the highest level in all the games they play and I promise the fans to bring them joy through our performances.”

Among the other majpr signings of the club are new coach Jurgen Streppel while the players who were off-loaded includes Yaqoob Al Hosani, Mohammed Jamal, Nacer Barazite.

Meanwhile, Ittihad Kalba are one team who have made wholesale changes to their squad during the transfer window and raring to go into the next season with a new-look team.

Playerswho joined Kalba are Nasir Abdulhadi of Al Wahda, Yaqoob Al Hosani of Al Jazira, Yassin Al Bakheet of Dibba, Khalid Shamarikh of Emirates, Ibrahim Sarhan of Fujairah, Abdulsalam Mohammed of Bani Yas, Peniel Mlapa of VVV Venlo, Saeed Al Menhali of Al Ain.