Sharjah rope in Dhanhani to bolster squad

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Right-back Khaled Al Dhanhani expressed his delight after joining a club like Sharjah, which is high in stature and deemed as one of the pillars of the country’s long footballing legacy.

Dhanhani joined Sharjah from Al Wahda, who are one above Kings in fourth with 35 points from 19 games.

“I have very fond memories of Al Wahda and the present also looks beautiful and bright at my new club Sharjah. It is an honour to wear the Kings’ shirt.

“I take an immense pleasure to announce my move from a beautiful past to a more beautiful present. I wish good luck to Al Wahda as well for their future endeavour,” said Dhanhani.

Negotiations for his arrival to Sharjah were in process for almost over a week but the formalities took a little longer than usual to be completed.

The signing ceremony was attended by Badr Ahmed, Director of Contracts and Player Affairs; Ibrahim Saif Bin Gafan, Director of Professional Affairs along with the player’s agent and his brother.

Dhanhani revealed that his move to Sharjah was prompted by the presence of a number of players, who played with him at his previous club.

“I have many friends in Sharjah, who have played with me at Al Wahda as well. The kind of success that they achieved here made it easy for me to make a decision,” said Dhanhani.

“Apart from my erstwhile club Al Wahda’s team-mates, I also have many friends at Sharjah, who play alongside me in the national team,” he informed.

The right-back joined the Kings’ castle with high hopes and vowed to give his best and live up to the expectations of his coach Abdulaziz Al Anbari.

“I am feeling very honoured to have been signed by Sharjah. I will try my level best to live up to the expectations of the Sharjah board members and coach Abdulaziz Al Anberi.

“I will strive to earn my place in the starting line-up and I believe it will be a great challenge for me to cement my place in the starting line-up with the kind of players Sharjah have,” he added.

The Arabian Gulf League (AGL) was postponed indefinitely in the wake of the coronavirus since mid-March with seven rounds to spare. When the league came to a halt, Shabab Al Ahli were at the top with 43 points from 19 games.

In a bid to bolster their squad and revive their campaign as one of the top contenders for the title, Sharjah have signed three more players in 2020 apart from Dhanhani.

Sharjah had a stellar start to the season before their five-game win-less run from the tenth to the 14th round derailed their campaign.

Sharjah, who were unbeaten till the ninth round, witnessed a drastic fall in form and lost four straight games after being held by Ajman in the tenth round.