After struggling for playing time at Nottingham Forest last season, Karim Ansarifard departed the City Ground and joined Al Saliya on a two-year deal over the summer. The 29-year-old contributed four goals in 313 minutes of football at Forest but spent the majority of 2018/19 on the bench and out of the matchday squad due to competition from Lewis Grabban and Daryl Murphy.
Ansarifard sought first-team football and a return to form with his new club, and it appears he hasn’t had the worst of starts in Qatar. As per Transfermarkt, the Iranian international has made two appearances for Al Saliya, scoring one goal. He’s played in every minute of every game in the Stars League and got off the mark on his debut – 1-1 draw with Al-Khor (August 22).
The experienced centre-forward had a good reputation prior to joining Forest, scoring & creating 30 goals in 48 games for Olympiacos, but he didn’t make much of a name for himself in England. Ansarifard delivered some promising performances and had his hand in a goal every 78 minutes in the East Midlands, but it wasn’t enough to warrant him staying.
As for his new club, Al Saliya are 10th in the Stars League with one point from two games and next face Qatar SC on September 20.
