The 30-year-old was acquired to great fanfare during September 2015, his Dh70m fee making him the biggest signing in the history of the Arabian Gulf League.

The Senegal forward went onto score 13 times in 24 games as the top-flight crown was secured, yet rumours linking him with a switch back to the Istanbul giants never ceased.

Both L’Equipe in his native France and publications such as Fanatik in Turkey stated yesterday a deal for the entirety of 2016/17 was close to being sealed. This would see Dh14.3m paid to reacquire a player who notched 60 goals during 144 appearances from 2011-15, winning the 2013/14 Super Lig and two Turkish Cups.

Sow added to the rumours last night when he teasingly tweeted “Tic-tac Tic-tac”, plus an emoji of an airplane. The move would leave a spot vacant in the AGL champions’ fourplayer foreign quota, with only two weeks remaining until their defence gets under way against Emirates Club on September 17.

Meanwhile, cost-cutting exercises in the First Division League have seen the clubs agree to use only one non-Emirati player from 2017/18. The decision was made at the General Assembly of the UAE Football Association on Sunday.

Budget problems have bedevilled the second division in recent years, with only nine competing during a truncated 2015/16. This number has been boosted to 12 for the upcoming season.