Al Wahda boss Jose Peseiro has pulled the plug on a bid to sign Tim Cahill after he decided the Australia legend did not fit their current system, according to chairman Ahmed Al Rumaithi.

A tentative deal had been secured last week with the Socceroos forward, who shone brightly during his nation’s run to Asian Cup victory. With the tournament now over a decision had to be made on whether to advance negotiations, a mutual agreement between Cahill and New York Red Bulls being reached on Monday night to end his contract a year early.

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Consultation has taken place with Peseiro since Saturday’s final victory against South Korea, the bid for the 35-year-old being abandoned because of the desire to persist with the current 4-2-3-1 formation which sees the Clarets fourth in the Arabian Gulf League.

“We spoke to the player’s agent and gained initial approval for the deal last week,” Al Rumaithi said. “There has been a delay with how to act because of Australia’s run to the final but now we have decided 100 per cent not to proceed.

“Our coach [Peseiro] has asked for continuity and we have accepted that. He does not want to play with two forwards, which we would have done if we had signed Cahill.

“Cahill is a fantastic player but we will not be following up on our agreement. His arrival would have damaged the continuity in the team.

Cahill has been linked with a number of teams in recent weeks, with the Australian Daily Telegraph reporting he had received offers from the English Premier League, China, Qatar and UAE.

Wahda can now be crossed off the list of potential destinations.

The ex-Everton star has been in superb form during the last six months. He scored one of the finest goals at World Cup 2014 with a stupendous volley against the Netherlands and was Australia’s star player as they claimed the Asian Cup on home soil.

Peseiro has, however, gained great success at Wahda since joining in November 2013 by utilising a lone centre forward.

Sebastian Tagliabue rocketed in 28 top-flight strikes last term as the club rebounded to reach second, with eight more secured ahead of tomorrow’s AGL resumption away to bottom-placed Ittihad Kalba.

Reports had emerged last month that a gap in the Al Nahyan Stadium-outfit’s Asian player quota could have opened up as Qadsia wanted to bring a premature end to the season-long loan deal for centre-back Hussain Fadhel.

Al Rumaithi was confident the Kuwait international would stick to his current deal. Tagliabue, playmaker Damian Diaz and midfielder Adel Hermach complete their non-Emirati list.

He said: “We are now concentrating on our existing foreign players and will be supporting them.”