RC Strasbourg Alsace have brought Ghana’s former Valenciennes, Lorient and Nantes goal machine Majeed Waris back to Ligue 1 Conforama on a season-long loan from Porto with a mandatory €2m purchase clause.
Strasbourg boss Thierry Laurey had been looking for a second striker to play alongside target man Ludovic Ajorque for several months, and Thursday night he got his man in the form of Ghana international Waris (31 caps, four goals).
‘Incredible atmosphere’
The 28-year-old, who has a wealth of Ligue 1 Conforama experience, is gifted with explosive pace and tight control – as well as clinical finishing, which should make him just the asset that Laurey has been looking for.
“I’m very happy to come to Racing. It was my priority to come back to France. Strasbourg is a club I know,” Waris told his new club’s official website, www.rcstrasbourgalsace.fr. “I played against Strasbourg recently with FC Nantes. There is an incredible atmosphere in the stadium and I want to experience some great moments with the fans at Le Meinau. I hope to bring my qualities to a team that already has very good strikers.”
Reunions
Waris should have no trouble fitting in at his new club, given that he already knows a host of players in the senior squad.
“I know [right-back] Kenny Lala, with whom I played at Valenciennes, and [stopper] Lamine Koné, who was my team-mate at Lorient,” beamed the Ghana hit-man. “I’m looking forward to meeting my friend [stopper] Alexander Djiku again, with whom I shared a holiday in Ghana. I can’t wait to start playing but I’m also really looking forward to discovering the beautiful city of Strasbourg.
Journeyman
After what was reportedly a protracted and difficult negotiation, Waris signed a one-year loan – with a mandatory €2m purchase clause – that brings him back to France just six months after his year-long loan spell with FC Nantes (33 appearances, five goals in the 2018-19 campaign).
Journeyman Waris, 28, seems fated to keep returning to France. After signing for Valenciennes from Spartak Moscow for the 2013-14 season (16 appearances, nine goals), he moved to Turkish side Trabzonspor for a season before returning to France with FC Lorient.
He spent two and a half seasons with the Brittany club before moving to Porto on a loan deal that became permanent – before the loan to Nantes last season! He is Strasbourg’s first signing of the winter transfer window.