Esteghlal signs Albania international Asani
Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal signed Albanian international winger Jasir Asani on a year-and-a-half contract.
Joining as a free transfer from Gwangju FC, Asani, 30, enjoyed an impressive campaign with South Korean club last term, bagging 17 goals – including eight in the K League 1 – and three assists in 32 appearances for the K League 1 outfit across all competitions.
He also netted nine goals in 10 games to help Gwangju FC reach the last eight at the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals – before suffering a 7-0 humiliation against Al Hilal – and finish joint-second to Saudi Salem Al-Dawsari in the competition’s leading marksmen chart – alongside Riyad Mahrez and Brazilian Anderson Lopes.
Born in Skopje, North Macedonia, Asani left his birth country to join FK Partizani in the Albanian Superliga, where he contributed 27 goals and 19 assists in 123 outings – either side of a loan spell at Swedish club AIK.
He also spent two seasons at Hungarian top-flight side Kisvárda FC, bagging 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games, before signing for Gwangju FC in January 2023.
A former player of North Macedonia U19 and U21 teams, Asani made his senior international debut with Albania in March 2023 – a cameo appearance during a 1-0 loss at Poland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers – and went on to find the net on five occasions in 23 caps.
The left-footed Albanian is the sixth summer signing for the Tehran Blues, who finished ninth in the 16-team table of the Iranian league last season but managed to win the Hazfi Cup trophy in May and secure a place in the AFC Champions League Two for the upcoming season, before bringing back Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto as the head coach last month.