Michel Bastos bound for UAE to seal Al Ain move
Lyon winger Michel Bastos is expected to land in the UAE on Wednesday night to tie up a move to Al Ain.
Sport360° understands the 29-year-old Brazilian will complete the formalities of his move to the Garden City in the next 48 hours - becoming new boss Jorge Fossati's first signing in the process.
Bastos' representatives have been in talks with Al Ain over the past few days with his agent Emmanuel de Kerchove confirming the UAE champions have offered the player a lucrative three-year contract.
However, the deal has been complicated by a clause in Bastos' loan agreement with Schalke last season which entitles the German club to first refusal on the player for a fee of €4million (Dh19.5m).
That figure has been matched by Al Ain - 12 months after they refused to bow to Lyon's initial €10m valuation - and they are now confident that a deal will be completed shortly.
A source close to the club has informed Sport360° that Bastos is en route to the UAE to put pen-to-paper at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had given Schalke until today to make their intentions known, although Bastos, who scored four goals in 14 appearances for the Royal Blues, made it clear that he only wanted to join Al Ain.
Bastos' impending arrival will mean that one of Al Ain's trio of foreign stars - Mirel Radoi, Asamoah Gyan and Jires Kembo Ekoko - will need to depart to accomodate the club's new signing.
While Radoi has been linked with a move to Al Ahli and a reunion with former boss and compatriot Cosmin Olaroiu, Ekoko is seen as the most likely to leave given that he occupies the left-wing position earmarked for Bastos.
Ekoko, 25, only joined the club last summer from Ligue 1 side Rennes, and while he was an integral part of Al Ain's title-winning squad, he failed to totally win over fans due to his inconsistent displays.
Bastos has spent the past four years at Lyon, scoring 35 goals in 141 appearances, after joining the club in an €18million deal from rivals Lille. He has been capped 10 times for Brazil and represented his country at the 2010 World Cup.
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