Midfielder Stefan Giglio could soon make a return to Premier League football if he decides to break his two-and-a-half-year stint in the Bulgarian Division One league this week.
Giglio has just re-joined Bulgarian champions CSKA for pre-season training after a 10-month loan with Sofia rivals Lokomotiv. His time there was hampered with injuries though and had to spend several weeks on the sidelines nursing a damaged Achilles tendon.
However, Giglio returned to the field of play last April, just in time to help Lokomotiv move out of the drop zone and preserve their status in the top flight.
During the January transfer window, CSKA coach Stoycho Mladenov signed new players but also opted to offer Giglio, 24, another two-year contract which the former Valletta midfielder had accepted.
However, it seems that another influx of new overseas players this summer is worrying the Malta international who sees little prospects of first-team football at CSKA next season.
"We've just returned from a training camp in Travna," Giglio said yesterday.
"At the moment I am still tied with CSKA and preferably I want to stay with the club and honour my contract. I am training hard but competition for first-team places here is becoming even more difficult with a new set of foreign players joining us for pre-season training. I guess, no-one is sure of a regular start when the league kicks off.
"I'm not one who likes to spend too much time on the bench. But, anyway, this could all be early talk. This week, I will have a couple of clear-the-air meetings with club officials, Mladenov and my agent.
"There are two Bulgarian teams in the first division who have already shown interest in signing me on. Valletta have also been in touch and so were Sliema Wanderers. But, so far, I haven't decided.
"This is a crucial phase for me. I have to be careful and think a 100 times about my future before making a move. Hopefully, my career will benefit from this decision."
Michael Mifsud yesterday played 45 minutes for German team Kaiserslautern in a warm-up match against FC Zurich.
Kaiserslautern, who have just completed a training camp in Switzerland, won the friendly 2-1. The Bundesliga gets underway on August 2. Kaiserslautern's first match is at home against 1860 Munich.