Moussa Sow's Al Ahli switch ends a seesaw saga

The Yellow Canaries released a short statement on their official website and to the stock exchange confirming that negotiations over the transfer are already well underway.

Moussa Sow's long and protracted move to UAE football appeared to finally be coming to fruition on Friday, when his Turkish club Fenerbahce confirmed a ?17m (Dhs70m) deal had been agreed with Al Ahli.
The Yellow Canaries released a short statement on their official website and to the stock exchange confirming that negotiations over the transfer are already well underway.
Such notifications are regularly seen as mere formalities before the switch is confirmed and the financial details are disclosed to fans and the media.
However, if Sow's transfer were to go through in due course, it's understood the Senegalese international would become the most expensive player to be sold abroad in the history of Turkish football.
Further weight to this gathering story yesterday (Friday) came from Fenerbahce's Turkish language Twitter feed, which included pictures of Sow saying an emotional farewell to club president Aziz Yildirim.
"I want to thank everyone who supported me," Sow said in a statement. "I've had a lot of experiences in my career, but Fenerbahce has been the best. I've had many beautiful matches here, especially the Kayseri Erciyesspor match. The crowd always supported me." Fenerbahce's sporting director Guillano Terraneo is also quoted as saying in a direct address to Sow: "You (Sow) were a very important player for our project. We didn't want you to leave, but that's life. I wish you success. I tried very hard to keep you, but you want to go."
It's believed the Red Knights have activated a release clause in Sow's contract as the 29-year-old still had a year left on his contract at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
He was thought to be a target for English Premier League (EPL) club Sunderland, with the Black Cats reported to have tabled a ?17.72m offer. Yildirim has nonetheless denied ever receiving a bid from Dick Advocaat's struggling side.
Sow netted 16 goals and provided eight assists for Fenerbahce last term. If he were to eventually end up at Rashid Stadium, it would almost certainly spell the end of Oussama Assaidi's short stint at the Red Knights.
The Moroccan midfielder, who Ahli signed for a reported £4.7m from Liverpool back in January, has been reduced to cameo substitute appearances so far this season, leading to speculation that he has now been deemed surplus to requirements by coach Cosmin Olaroiu.
Ahli themselves hadn't officially confirmed that a concrete deal had been struck for Sow as Khaleej Times went to press last night.
alex@khaleejtimes.com