Birmingham City, here I come! Argentine ace Zarate takes loan trail out of Qatar

Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate was the young face that  Qatari football aficionados were seeking to propel the image of the local scene and entice other European youngsters to plunge into the Qatari League.

'With an estimated predominantly migrant population of 8,000,000, Qatar remains one of Asian football's enigmas, particularly at the youth level'

They succeeded, albeit for a brief period. The 20-year-old signed for Al-Sadd but it wasn't long before he had visions of playing in the Premier League - and he has now joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan deal, with a view to making the move permanent.

The loan option was partly fuelled by the player's demand to move out of Qatar. Christian Otero, Zarate''s agent , said: “He wanted to leave Qatar and is delighted to be back in a big league. He is an outstanding player and will show that.”

Although signing off from the Q-League with a goal in second-placed Al-Sadd’s recent astonishing 4-0 demolition of league leader Gharrafa, it is widely acknowledged that the young Argentinian did not show his best form in Doha, while making 12 appearances for the club, in the ten-team Qatar National League

Zarate was a member of the Argentina team that won the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against the Czech Republic. He was very highly rated in his homeland and it was a surprise when he left Valez Sarsfield last summer and accepted a move to Al Saad in a deal worth close to $20m. But he never had a settled run in the team.