The 50-year-old left Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki last month after guiding them to a historic unbeaten Greek Super League tile; their first since 1985.

Prior to his successful stint in Greece, Lucescu had managed Rapid Bucharest, Brasov and Petrolul Ploiesti in his native Romania. He also had a two-year spell in Asian football, which saw him win the Qatar Stars Cup with El Jaish in 2012-13.

Confirming the appointment of the Croatian on their official Twitter account, Al Ahli said Ivankovic has signed a two-year contract with the club.

The 65-year-old replaces local coach Yousif Anbar who had been installed as caretaker in April following the dismissal of Uruguayan manager Jorge Fossati who lasted just over two months at Al Ahli.

The 26-year-old midfielder will join the Abu Dhabi-based club on a season-long loan after making 21 appearances and scoring a goal for Al Dhafra who finished 10th in the league last season.

According to Esteghlal FC, the 43-year-old Italian held talks with the club’s President Amirhossein Fathi and Sporting Director Ali Khatir in Turkey on Tuesday.

Sekina began his professional career with his boyhood club in late 2013, and scored his first J.League goal later in May against Cerezo Osaka. Since his debut 'till 2017, the 24-year-old has assisted the Saitama-based club to runners-up finishes in the J.League in 2014 and 2016.

Defending champions Kashima Antlers, a pair of two-time winners in Guangzhou Evergrande and Urawa Red Diamonds, and former semi-finalists Shanghai SIPG emerged victorious from the East half of the AFC Champions League's Round of 16. The-AFC.com delves into some of the numbers that tell the story of the week's matches.