Sanfrecce Hiroshima's Douglas leaps over River Plate's Jonatan Maidana during the semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. The striker is now with Al Ain FC. (Photo : Getty Images)
UAE Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain FC bested rumored Chinese Super League clubs for the signature of Brazilian striker Dyanfres Douglas Chagas Matos, more commonly known as "Douglas".
The 28-year-old forward was officially presented by the Boss to the media as its newest member on Tuesday at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, as per The National.
"First I'd like to thank Al Ain, to everyone that gave their effort to complete this transfer. I had different options but I chose this club," said Douglas. "In this short time since we decided to come I managed to seek all possible information about the club and also the players, so I know I can adapt to this team."
Sport 360 recently reported the UAE club's apprehension that an unnamed Chinese Super League squad is also interested in signing Douglas. Rumors have emerged on Monday that a CSL team is keen on offering the Morros, Brazil native more than €4 million transfer fee offered by Al Ain to his parent team, Tokushima Vortis of Japan.
As it turned out, the rumors were plain hearsays and so the deal was officially done the next day.
Douglas is considered as one of the most effective international talents these days, scoring 25 times in 45 appearances on loan for Sanfrecce Hiroshima last year. He had been with Vortis since 2010 and was briefly on loan Kyoto Sanga FC and Sanfrecce in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
"We need a striker who will score 15-20 goals," said Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic. "This is our target. We play passing football, but missed a lethal striker. We have local players who can do anything, give fantastic passes, so we needed this guy."
"Of course, he will need time to adapt to everything, but I hope it will be very soon. I'm sure it's the right choice from our side. I can guarantee we did a great job," Dalic added.
