Al Wahda have appointed former Saudi Arabia international Sami Al Jaber as their new head coach and also announced the signing of Ghana defender Harrison Afful.

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Al Jaber replaces Jose Peseiro, who was sacked on Monday, while 27-year-old defender Afful arrives from Tunisian side Esperance.

The Clarets have signed former Al Hilal manager Al Jaber to a six-month contract until the end of the season. Both announcements were made on Wednesday, although Wahda Under-21 coach Majed Salem remains in charge for the clash with Bani Yas today. Afful, a product of Dutch side Feyenoord’s academy, is not available for the Bani Yas game.

Afful was impressive for the Black Stars as they made it to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost on penalties to the Ivory Coast. He was named as a substitute in the AFCON team of the tournament.

Al Jaber, 42, was manager at Hilal from 2013 to 2014 and was most recently director of football at Al Arabi in Qatar. Al Wahda chairman Ahmed Al Rumaithi said: “It was important to get a coach who knows the area and the league and who is from the same culture.

“We believe in Sami and we like his character. We know what he did in Hilal and we will see how the relationship works and if he stays with us longer than the six months.”

He praised outgoing boss Peseiro who guided Wahda to second place in last season’s Arabian Gulf League, but said there had been friction in recent weeks.

“He is technically a very good coach, a hard worker and has been very loyal to Al Wahda. He had done a good job. We feel in the last two or three weeks there have been some difficulties in working together.”