Jhonnattann Benites is on the verge of rejoining Valletta as the Brazilian has all but agreed a two-year contract with the BOV Premier League club.
The nippy forward had a short spell with Valletta in the early months of season 2012/13 but eventually moved to rivals Birkirkara after parting ways with the Citizens, then under the charge of English coach Mark Miller.
Jhonnattann spent two seasons with Birkirkara, winning the league title in his first year. Last season, the 25-year-old turned out for Al Muharraq who were crowned Bahrain champions.
Coach Paul Zammit, back for a second spell with Valletta after ending his stint with Birkirkara at the end of last season, is believed to have played a key role in persuading Jhonnattann to consider a move to Valletta as the two established a very good relationship during their time with the Stripes.
Last night, Valletta moved closer to finalising their squad for the Europa League after reaching a verbal agreement to sign another two foreign strikers.
Nigerian Uchenna Calictus Umeh, who last played for Lithuanian club Ekranas, and Thierry Tazemeta, from Equatorial Guinea, have been offered contracts after impressing Zammit in training.
It is believed that Zammit is now focusing his efforts on recruiting a defender.
Valletta have also declared an interest in Mark Scerri but Sliema Wanderers are reluctant to part with the Malta midfielder.
Another player who is making a return to Valletta is Njongo Priso. The Cameroonian winger, who is in the process of applying for a Maltese passport, has reportedly agreed a five-year deal with the Citizens.
Priso, who has been married to a Maltese girl for more than four years, is not the only player who could become eligible to play for Malta in the coming months.
Times of Malta is informed that Sam Magri has also verbally agreed to apply for dual citizenship following lengthy discussions with the Malta FA Technical Centre officials.
Magri is a young English defender who came through the youth ranks of Portsmouth before signing a two-year deal with QPR.
The 21-year-old, who had a loan spell with Nuneaton Town last term, has represented England at youth level but was unable to break into the Under-21 squad.
Until a few years back, the MFA’s chances of convincing Magri to pledge his international future to Malta looked remote but the scenario has changed in recent months.
It is believed that the Malta FA are hopeful that both Priso and Magri will get their Maltese passport in time to be considered for selection for the national team’s next Euro Championship qualifiers – away to Italy on September 3 and home to Azerbaijan three days later.
Meanwhile, local clubs are also stepping their recruitment drive ahead of the 2015/16 season. Floriana have reached an agreement to sign Italian midfielder Federico Usai who played under Luis Oliveira, the Greens’ new coach, at Muravera in the Italian Eccellenza division.
Riccardo Gaucci, the Floriana FC president, is pursuing interest in a host of Italy-based players with the aim of offering them a contract for next season.
Coronado interest
Igor Coronado is expected to stay with the Greens after signing a two-year deal but the Brazilian forward, who is admired by several Maltese clubs, is also attracting interest in Italy where Gaucci has a lot of contacts.
Newly-promoted St Andrew’s have effectively sealed their partnership agreement with Swiss-based agency Talent 11 who will take over the running of the club’s teams from U-13 upwards.
Wayne Attard, the former Malta U-19 coach, has returned for a second spell in charge of St Andrew’s after the latter parted ways with Brian Said.
T11, who already organise training camps for youths at the Luxol ground, are reportedly working to bring a host of young foreign players to join St Andrew’s, including two Haiti Under-21 players, two Italians and one from Nigeria.
These are also busy times for Sliema Wanderers FC who last week signed a five-year partnership deal with Next Champions TV.
Italian defender Andrea Scozzese, who turned out for the Wanderers last season, is poised to join Cypriot club Ethnikos Achnas on a two-year deal.