Sebastian Monesterolo received a warm welcome on Sunday night as scores of Valletta fans gathered at the Malta International Airport to greet the Argentine striker.
Monesterolo has returned to Malta for his third spell with the Citizens after parting company with Hapoel Bnei Lod, a second division club in Israel, earlier this month.
News that Valletta had decided to take Monesterolo back on board delighted the City fans but their satisfaction was slightly tempered by suggestions that Malta FA regulations prohibited clubs from re-signing a player during the same season.
The Times has sought clarification on this matter from the Malta FA and Joe Gauci, the association's general secretary, yesterday confirmed that Valletta were free to re-sign Monesterolo.
Gauci explained that the Malta FA does have a rule that precludes clubs from registering a player twice during the same season but it doesn't apply to international transfers.
A few seasons back, Premier League club Birkirkara had expressed their intention to revive their association with Bulgarian defender Emil Yantchev who had joined Marsa in the close season after being released by the then Malta champions.
However, Birkirkara weren't allowed to re-sign Yantchev during the 2007 January transfer window after being notified of the existence of the afore-mentioned MFA rule.
Monesterolo, Valletta's top scorer last season with 19 goals, left the club last summer following the termination of his one-year contract. The 25-year-old relocated to Cyprus where he was supposed to join AEK Larnaca but the deal fell through after the Argentine's application for an Italian passport was shelved.
With only a few days left before the closure of the August transfer window, Monesterolo accepted an offer from Hapoel Bnei Lod but in an interview with The Times in October, the Argentine indicated his willingness to move on in January if the right offer came along.
Monesterolo, who has signed a deal until the end of the season with Valletta, will be in Paul Zammit's 20-man squad that will jet off to Italy on Saturday for a triangular one-day tournament also featuring Ancona, who play in the Serie B, and an Albanian team.
Brazilian midfielder-cum-forward Paulo Massaro, who has also agreed to join Valletta until the end of the season after leaving a good impression during a trial, will also be in the Citizens' travelling party. Massaro, 27, last played for Brazilian club Parana Clube.
Valletta have already made a request for the international transfer certificates of Monesterolo and Massaro and hope to complete their registration ahead of their plum match against current Premier League leaders Hibs today week.
Greens to sign Brazilian striker
Floriana, Valletta's neighbouring rivals, are also looking to engage two new foreigners during the January transfer window. Rodrigo Felix, a 22-year-old Brazilian striker, flew into Malta on Sunday night on the same flight from Frankfurt as Monesterolo.
Felix is expected to be offered a contract by the Greens who are also hoping to replace Serbian goalkeeper Dejan Maksic with Nigerian Murphy Akanji. The former Sliema Wanderers goalkeeper is expected to travel to Malta in the coming days for further talks with Floriana who also have a Tunisian player on trial.
Argentine midfielder Pablo Doffo and Montenegro striker Aleksandar Madzar are the two foreign players on Floriana's books at present. Floriana are expected to open talks with Madzar over the termination of his contract.
A priority for the Greens is the appointment of a new coach following the departure of Zoran Popovic who resigned from his post after his side's 3-0 win over Sliema Wanderers.
Sources have told The Times that Floriana are currently considering a number of Maltese and foreign candidates for their vacant coaching post.