Spurs, West Ham eyeing free agent Ali Al Habsi
Times News Service MUSCAT: Former Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi is set to move on following their relegation to League One.
According to reports published by Daily Mail on Sunday, Tottenham, West Ham United and Reading are interested in free agent Ali Al Habsi.
The 33-year-old is out of contract at Wigan Athletic and is a proven performer at Premier League and Championship level.
Tottenham and West Ham are weighing up replacements for Brad Friedel and Jussi Jaaskelainen, while Reading need to replace Adam Federici who joined Bournemouth.
New challenges
In early May, Ali Al Habsi’s brother Ahmad Al Habsi told Times Sport the Omani captain is looking for another challenge in the new football season.
Speaking right after Ali confirmed that he will be leaving rel- egated English Championship side Wigan Athletic, Ahmad said his younger brother is now looking forward for a new challenge.
“He was thinking about this (leaving Wigan) for some time now. His contract is expiring this summer anyway. He is looking for a new challenge now,” Ahmad said without revealing any details.
Ahmad who is also an Oman Football Association board member, said Ali is “looking for options” to join a new club soon.
“As Ali said in social media, he will be announcing the details in June. But frankly, there is nothing concrete yet. Options are still open and we are hoping to come out in detail in a month’s time,” Ahmad said.
When asked if Al Habsi informed him prior to announcing his decision via social media, Ahmad had this to say: “Of course, he spoke to me before he did that and he told me he wanted a change and that he wants to look for another challenge. I said we are always with him and go for it!”