Al Wasl working on signing Diego Forlan for Maradona, says CEO

Al Wasl are working on a deal to make Uruguay striker Diego Forlan new coach Diego Maradona's first marquee foreign signing.

"He (Forlan) is one of the big names on the line, I can't deny that but we still haven't closed this deal," CEO Ashraf Ahmad Mohammad was quoted by Tuesday's Gulf News as saying.

"We are working on it. We are certainly doing our best to bring top things to this country, because the UAE (United Arab Emirates) deserves it."

The 32-year-old former Villarreal and Manchester United forward, voted player of the World Cup finals in South Africa last year, has struggled for form in recent months in Spain's La Liga after reports of a rift with former Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

Maradona, who captained Argentina to their 1986 World Cup triumph, takes charge of the seven-times UAE league winners next month, and his appointment had already attracted a lot of interest from prospective players, Mohammed boasted earlier this week.

Mohammed said Maradona had already told the club where their weaknesses lay after watching videos of their matches.

"He knows that we've signed Chilean midfielder Edson Puch, and he's seen Francisco Yeste and Mohammad Shaiba.

"He's now talking about a striker and I think that we've given him that opportunity."