Al Ain look set to complete a deal for Brazilian striker Douglas despite late interest in the player from the Chinese Super League.
The Tokushima Vortis forward, 28, is expected to land in the UAE on Tuesday to undergo a medical after the UAE champions agreed to pay his €3.9 million (Dh15.6m) asking price.
However, on Monday night an unnamed Chinese top-flight club made a last-ditch bid to sign Douglas, with Al Ain fearing the frontman would favour a money-spinning move to the Far East. The Garden City side, though, remain confident they will get their man.
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Douglas has recently enjoyed a fine loan spell at Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, scoring 21 goals to fire the club to the J League title. He finished the season as the division’s second top scorer. He also scored twice against Guangzhou Evergrande in the third-place play-off at last month’s Fifa Club World Cup.
Should Douglas sign for Al Ain, he will replace in the squad Emmanuel Emenike, the Nigerian striker currently on loan from Fenerbahce. Emenike has scored nine goals in 15 appearances for Zlatko Dalic’s side, but his performances have not been deemed strong enough to help the club’s quest for more silverware.?
A return to Fenerbache before the January 25 transfer deadline has been mooted.