Despite Al Ain's continual denials, UAE Olympic star Omar Abulrahman will join England Premier League champions Manchester City on trial.
The 20-year-old playmaker jetted into Manchester on Tuesday ahead of his short-term stay at the Etihad Stadium where he will look to impress boss Roberto Mancini.
Al Ain, Pro League champions last season, had been at pains to deny talks had taken place with City over a deal for Abdulrahman with a spokesman for the club telling Sport360° they had received "no official approach".
However, Abdulrahman, the standout player for the UAE during their Olympics campaign, took to Twitter late on Monday night to confirm he was indeed headed for link up with City's star-studded squad.
It has been suggested the pint-sized midfielder will spend two-weeks with the Abu Dhabi-owned club although a source at the club has intimated that it may well just be five days. Al Ain are yet to make an official comment on the move.
As Abdulrahman prepares to link-up with City he will at least have one admirer already in the club's ranks with defender Micah Richards recently voicing his admiration for the playmaker.
Richards played against the Emirati during the UAE's Group A clash with Team GB at London 2012 and was suitably impressed, calling the him a "very good player" before adding: “He’ll be one of those players we should keep an eye on in the future."
UAE Olympic team boss Mahdi Ali has also been championing the abilities of Abdulrahmanm who has recovered from two serious knee injuries to become an integral part of Al Ain's recent success.
Mahdi has urged him and his team-mates to seek moves abroad in order to further their footballing edcuation. "We would be very pleased to see UAE players in Europe. It would give us more experience and the team would benefit,” he said.