This past week saw some residual movement following the closure of the transfer window in Europe on February 1st.
Yashir Islame who has been without a club since leaving Barito Putera of the Indonesian first tier last summer has signed with Rangers de Talca of the Chilean second tier. Islame has broad experience in Chile and has lead Curicó Unido and Coquimbo Unido to the Chilean Primera. In his last 41 games between the Chilean first and second divisions Islame has generated a 17 goals and six assists.
Islame had been played out of position- as a midfielder- in his last seasons in Malaysia and Indonesia. This was a trend that also continued with the national team where he was played as a wide forward. The move back to the Chilean Leagues should see him deployed where he belongs- as a #9.
Rangers de Talca had signed another Palestinian player, Matias Jadue, in November. That was a short lived stint for Jadue who only featured for 32 minutes before suffering an injury and voiding his contract in a goodwill gesture.
14,500 kilometers away Fady Zidan made history by becoming the first Palestinian player to sign for a Georgian club. Zidan, who played for Taraji Wadi Nes, Shabab Al-Dhahrieh, and Ahli Al-Khaleel in the WBPL has spent the past five years playing for a litany of clubs between the top two Israeli tiers.
The Haifa native and former Palestine U23 international will now join the ranks of Torpedo Kutaisi ahead of the start of the 2021 season. Torpedo last won the league in 2017, they lifted the Georgian Cup a year later but have been an average side since.
