Vukanac in, Nooitmeer out

Nikola Vukanac has rejoined Birkirkara after agreeing a short-term deal with the Premier League club.

Vukanac, who helped Birkirkara to win the Premier League title in season 2009/10, replaces Regi Nooitmeer who cancelled his contract with the Stripes yesterday, citing personal reasons.

Birkirkara had made the decision to re-sign Vukanac before Nooitmeer told them that he wanted to quit.

Nooitmeer was signed by Birkirkara last month after leaving a good impression during his trial but injury restricted the fomer Haka defender to just one first-team start in the 1-0 defeat to Floriana.

Sources told The Times that the Dutch defender looked somewhat unsettled throughout last week and a fall-out with coach Paul Zammit is believed to have precipitated his exit from the club.

Vukanac had been linked with a return to Birkirkara earlier this season and also trained once with the squad but the move failed to materialise.

The Serbian defender, who is out of contract, accepted Birkir-kara’s invitation to return when the club contacted him last week.

Vukanac was on the verge of signing for a Belgian club last month after a long trial but the deal fell through at the last hour.

After flying into Malta yesterday, Vukanac reported for his first training session with Birkirkara in the evening.