Sliema Wanderers have strengthened their attack with the acquisition of striker Danail Mitev.
Danilo Doncic, the Sliema coach, identified Mitev as his no.1 target after learning that the Bulgarian was available on a free transfer.
Having worked with Mitev during his two-year stint as assistant coach of Lokomotiv Sofia, Doncic persuaded the 27-year-old to pursue his career in Malta when the two met for talks a few days ago.
Mitev, who was on the books of Israeli club Bnei Sakhin last season, has ageed a one-year deal.
“I worked with Mitev at Lokomotiv Sofia,” Doncic said.
“When we decided to look for a new foreign striker, I knew what type of player I wanted to sign, also based on the budget we had.
“Mitev is a proven striker who has played in the top league of Bulgaria and Israel and one who can make the difference for us next season.”
Mitev is Sliema’s third close-season capture after the Premier League club, spearheaded by president Steve Abela, signed Brazilian forward Jorge and midfielder Ryan Grech.
Sliema have also declared their interest in Bulgarian utility player Rumen Galabov whose contract with Marsaxlokk is due to expire at the end of this month.
It is believed that Sliema have also enquired about the possibility of signing Dyson Falzon on loan from Valletta. Falzon is currently training with the Citizens but there’s a strong possibility that he will be loaned back to Ħamrun this summer.
Jesmond Zammit, the new Spar-tans coach, is working to bolster his squad with Gianluca Calabretta being the first player to join Ħamrun from Tarxien.
Yesous Camilleri, who was on loan with Rabat from Valletta last season, is also in Zammit’s sights but the latter may face competition from Hibs for the U-21 defender.
Meanwhile, Tuesday was indeed a positive day for youth football in Malta as, apart from the U-21s’ 2-1 win in Lithuana, two youngsters, Luke Montebello and Fabio Mus-cat, played for the youth side of Serie B club Livorno in a friendly.
Birkirkara’s Montebello capped a good performance with a fine goal. The two players were invited to join Livorno for a trial after catching the eye of scouts who visited Malta recently on the ini-tiative of the Malta FA.