Al Ahli newboy Thamer Mohammed has revealed the presence of Fabio Cannavaro at the Dubai club made his switch from Bani Yas a no-brainer.

The centre-back had slipped down the pecking order in Al Shamkha and is currently serving a three-month ban after mistakenly taking an anti-obesity supplement that contained a banned substance.

Mohammed was out of contract at Bani Yas in May, and after agreeing a pre-contract with the Red Knights was allowed to move early for an undisclosed fee.

“I cannot forget the presence of Fabio Cannavaro on the technical staff,” the 29-year-old, who will not be available for first team action until March 22, said.

“He was one of the best players in the world and I will greatly benefit from his experience of the centre of the defence.”

Despite starting only one Arabian Gulf League game at Bani Yas under current coach Jorge da Silva, Mohammed was a regular in the side that lifted the GCC Champions League last May.

His former employers, though, are confident they can cope with the loss of the defender.

“For the last month or so Thamer has not played with the team because he had some problems. We have a lot of good players with good quality to fill this position,” da Silva said.

Elsewhere, Al Jazira unveiled Ismail Al Jasmi and Hassan Ameen who have moved to the capital as part of the deal that saw Ali Al Ameri join Al Nasr.

Ajman, meanwhile, have signed Bakari Kone from Qatari club Umm Salal until the end of the season.