Valletta have continued to strengthen their attacking options after recruiting Nigerian striker Alfred Effiong on a free transfer.

Effiong has established a reputation as a speedy, prolific striker after successful stints with a host of clubs, namely Ħamrun Spartans, Qormi and Marsa-xlokk. The 26-year-old was the Premier League’s top scorer with 17 goals last season.

The acquisition of two, possibly three, experienced strikers has been a priority for the Malta champions after they decided not to renew the contract of Brazilian forward Andrade who had joined the club on a short-term deal last January.

The lengthy ban imposed on Terrence Scerri prompted Valletta to step up their efforts to increase their pool of strikers.

Effiong was linked with a move to Valletta last month but for a time, it looked as though the Whites had decided to pursue other targets with Malta striker Michael Mifsud on top of their wanted list.

With their commitments in the first qualifying round of the Champions League looming large, Valletta coach Jesmond Zerafa, who worked with Effiong during his spell at the helm of Qormi, urged the club to revive their bid for the Nigerian last weekend.

Effiong was unable to agree personal terms during initial talks with Valletta president Victor Sciriha but sources yesterday told The Times that fresh discussions led to an agreement on Monday night.

The former Marsaxlokk striker, who is expected to sign a one-year deal in the coming days, reported for his first training session with Valletta yesterday evening.

Although the Citizens have already submitted their list of players for the Champions League games against San Marino’s Tre Fiori, they can still register Effiong as UEFA rules permit one change to the squad until 24 hours before the game.

Effiong is also expected to be included in Valletta’s squad for tomorrow’s Euro Challenge Cup match against Birkirkara at the Hibs Stadium.

Apart from Effiong and new signing Ousseni Zongo, Valletta also have Brazilian striker William Barbosa Da Silva on trial.

Birkirkara, who drew 0-0 with Floriana in the Euro Cup on Monday, have also been active in the transfer market.

The Stripes yesterday announ-ced that Malta U-21 striker Terrence Vella has signed a five-year contract with the club. Leighton Grech, another key member of the Malta U-21 squad that began their UEFA qualifying campaign with excellent results in away games against Finland (0-0) and Lithuania (2-1), has also joined the three-time Malta champions on a five-year deal.

Latvian defender Marcis Savinovs, who came on for trialist Matt Clarke 13 minutes from the end of Monday’s game against Floriana, and Brazilian players Antonio Carlos Gomes and David Da Silva have secured a one-year contract with the Stripes.

Qormi will have three Brazilian players on trial for their first pre-season training session on Monday.

Coach Stephen Azzopardi will be evaluating the qualities of goalkeeper Thiago Leal, Giuseppe Vela Jr, a Brazilian midfielder who has an Italian passport, and striker Jorginho.

Qormi have extended the contract of Greek defender Christos Karamanolis for another year. Belgian defender Jason Lee Vandelannoite and Nigerian forward Abubaker Bello-Osagie are still contracted to Qormi but both are believed to be keen on a move to a club outside Malta.

Ħamrun Spartans have already signed German midfielder Heiner Backhaus, who played for Valletta in season 2007/08, and for-mer Tarxien winger Gianluca Calabretta.

Coach Jesmond Zammit and the Spartans’ committee, headed by Daniel Sullivan, are looking to engage three other foreign players.

It is believed that Ħamrun are in advanced discussions with a foreign striker who had a spell in Maltese football a couple of years ago.

Sliema Wanderers have named Saviour Debono Grech as assistant coach to Danilo Doncic. Mark Vella has been confirmed as Sliema’s goalkeepers’ coach.

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