Persepolis in advanced talks with Cameroon international Aboubakar: Report
Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis is closing in on a deal with Cameroonian international striker and skipper Vincent Aboubakar, Varzesh3 reported on Friday.
A former player of Porto and Besiktas, Aboubakar, 33, bagged eight goals and double assists in 28 appearances for Hatayspor last season before parting ways with the Turkish Süper Lig club in June.
New Persepolis head coach Vahid Hashemian is eager to strengthen his frontline, as Ali Alipour is the only established striker in the Tehran Reds squad following Serdar Dursun’s departure earlier in August.
Aboubakar enjoyed the most prolific part of his career with Besiktas, scoring 60 goals and providing 14 assists in 117 games across two spells, either side of a two-season stint at Saudi Pro League outfit Al Nassr.
He also contributed with 58 goals and 16 assists in 125 appearances in four seasons with Porto, lifting the Primeira Liga trophies twice, after joining the Portuguese heavyweight from FC Lorient in 2014.
Capped 104 times for the national team, Aboubakar has found the net on 44 occasions for Cameroon, steering the Indomitable Lions to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2017, before finishing as the leading marksman of the competition when Cameroon finished third in the 2021 edition.
Persepolis got off to a slow start in the new Iranian top-flight season, sharing the spoils with newly-promoted Fajr Sepasi in a 1-1 home draw, but went on to claim a first league victory in the ‘Iranian Clasico’ in four seasons, beating Sepahan 1-0 at Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium last week.