Bogdanovic to start training with Marsaxlokk tomorrow

Daniel Bogdanovic has already made his last appearance in a Sliema Wanderers shirt in spite of the fact that his move to Marsaxlokk will only be ratified once the new transfer window opens in January.

Earlier this week, Marsaxlokk president Victor Sciriha reached an agreement with Robert Arrigo, his counterpart at Sliema Wanderers, over Bogdanovic's transfer.

Contacted by The Times, Sciriha said he has paid a substantial chunk of Bogdanovic's transfer fee to Sliema and was expecting the Malta midfielder-cum-striker to report for his first training session tomorrow.

Arrigo also confirmed that Bogdanovic's three-year contract with the Blues had been dissolved after the successful conclusion of the talks with Marsaxlokk. Arrigo also said that Bogdanovic has been given the go-ahead to begin training with Marsaxlokk with immediate effect.

The 23-year-old Bogdanovic had joined the Maltese champions last summer after his spell with ChernoMore Varna was marred by the Bulgarian club's financial problems.

Sliema's capture of Bogdanovic was deemed as one of the major transfer coups in local football as the gangly forward was courted by a host of clubs, including Marsaxlokk.

His initial performances portrayed a picture of perfect harmony between the club and Bogdanovic after he inspired the Wanderers to a 3-2 aggregate win over Latvian champions FC Skonto in the first qualifying round of the Champions League.

However, the relationship between Bogdanovic and the coaching staff looks to have deteriorated since the start of the league, leading to his omission from the starting line-up for the last two matches.

Marsaxlokk, whose forays in the transfer market have become more and more frequent over the last few years, moved swiftly to secure his signature weeks before the relaunch of football sales next month.

Apart from Bogdanovic, Sciriha also said that Hamrun goalkeeper Ivan Casha and Minabo Asechemie, Marsa's Nigerian midfielder, will also move south in January.

Marsaxlokk are widely expected to part with Bulgarian midfielder Hari Milen Borislavov in order to be in a position to register Asechemie as their third foreign player.

Michael Mifsud, who recently terminated his contract with Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern, is another target for Marsaxlokk but the Malta striker is still weighing up his options.

Sliema, his former club, are also hopeful that Mifsud will rejoin them come January.