AS Monaco have confirmed the signing of Brazillian striker Vagner Love. He leaves Sao Paulo-based club Corinthians in a deal reputed to be worth just over £1m, signing until 2017.
The 31-year-old proclaimed upon his arrival on Wednesday that he was "very happy and very proud" to join "a great club" such as Monaco after transferring from South American outfit, Corinthians.
The former CSKA Moscow man will don the number nine shirt for his new club following Dimitar Berbatov's departure.
Monaco hoping Love is solution
Vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev, said upon the forward's arrival that the Ligue 1 outfit have "had problems scoring goals since the start of the season" but was convinced could provide the team "with all of his quality in that department".
On the face of it, this deal seems to be a coup for the Principality club, who have signed a player who has scored over 242 goals during his career, nets after every 3.7 shots on average, and who has represented his prestigious national team 20 times.
AS Monaco have often looked close to impotent in front of goal this season. Hence, it is unsurprising that they've addressed this problem with the signing of Love, as their current forwards, Guido Carrillo and Lacina Traore, have scored between them only three goals in 26 appearances this campaign.
With Love comes experience in European football, after 172 appearances made for CSKA Moscow, the club at which he won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and became the Europa League's top scorer in 2008/09.
Despite Monaco failing to escape the Europa League group stage this term, there is still hope that they will be able to nail down a Champions League qualification spot if they finish second in Ligue 1.
Low-risk move could go either way
While the inexpensive transfer fee may render Love's move a very low-risk one for Monaco, it shouldn't be met with shock if this move does not work out for either party in the long term.
Les Rouges et Blancs are a team struggling to meet their full potential, and while this signing may aid them in their challenge to Paris Saint-Germain, it may prove to be an environment which forces Love's stay to be short-lived - especially when considering this is his fifth club he's played for since 2012. This turbulence is most likely the cause of his low transfer fee.
Given their current troubles in scoring goals, reflected by their very underwhelming goal difference, manager Leonardo Jardim will hope that Vagner Love will be able to rediscover the form he found at CSKA Moscow, where he scored a very impressive 95 goals in 184 games.
If he can, although Monaco's chances of making a title challenge would still seem implausible thanks to PSG's 21 point lead, their chances of leapfrogging Angers, who sit in second position one point ahead of Monaco, will be hugely enhanced, giving them a genuine chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League once again.