Soccer-Olympiakos complete swoop for Paraguay's Haedo Valdez

Reuters

ATHENS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Olympiakos Piraeus have moved quickly to attempt to fill the void left by the expected departure of striker Kostas Mitroglou by signing Paraguay forward Nelson Haedo Valdez. The 30-year-old has signed a loan deal until the end of the season from United Arab Emirates outfit Al Jazira with Olympiakos having the option to sign him permanently in the summer. He has been targeted as a replacement for Mitroglou, who is expected to complete a transfer to English Premier League club Fulham before the end of the transfer window on Friday. "I am very proud to become part of a great club and tradition that is Olympiakos," Haedo Valdez told reporters. The experienced Paraguayan international spent nine years in Germany with Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund before spells in Spain with Valencia and Russia with Rubin Kazan. Haedo Valdez, who has scored 12 times in 66 matches for his country, moved to Al Jazira at the start of the 2013/14 season. (Reporting by Graham Wood; Editing by Rex Gowar)