Ezzatollahi set to join Shabab Al-Ahli: Report
Iranian midfielder Saeid Ezzatollahi is closing in on a move to Emirati club Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai “in the coming days”, according to Varzesh3.
Should the dead go through, it will be a third spell in the Persian Gulf club football for the 27-year-old Iranian, who also played for Qatar’s Al-Gharafa on loan from Danish side Vejle BK for the second part of the 2021/22 season.
Introduced to the Iranian top flight with Malavan FC in 2012, Ezzatollahi was also on Esteghlal head coach Javad Nekounam’s wish list during the midseason transfer window but refused to return to the Persian Gulf Pro League.
Shabab Al-Ahli is third in the UAE’s ADNOC Pro League with 24 points after 12 rounds of matches, six points adrift of Al Wasl on top.
Having joined Vejle in August 2020, the former Rostov and Reading player has bagged a goal and assist apiece in 11 appearances in the Danish Superliga this season, where his team is second from bottom in the 12-team table.
Ezzatollahi has 66 caps for the national team under his belt, playing an integral part as a number six since making his international debut in 2015.
Ezzatollahi was part of the Iranian squad at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, as well as the AFC Asian Cup in 2019.
His latest international outings came in the recently-finished Asian Cup in Qatar, where Iran made it to the semifinals before suffering a 3-2 defeat against the host and eventual champion.