Al Nasr SC, the team that finished 6th in the 14-team UAE Pro-League, have said that Brett Holman is headed to Dubai as their new striker. The club broke the news by tweeting this:
صورة : الاعب الاسترالي بيرت هولمان مهاجم نادي النصر الجديد pic.twitter.com/oLiTpyhzOK
— AL Nasr Club (@ALNasrSC) June 20, 2013
Roughly translated, that reads "Picture: Australian player Brett Holman new Al Nasr striker." Elsewhere it's being reported that Holman is only traveling for his medical exam, but the big picture seems clear: Holman is not long for Birmingham.
The Australian striker was Alex McLeish's last signing with Aston Villa, and impressed early in the 2012-13 season. Despite his bundles of pace, however, Holman seemed to only be able to contribute for about an hour, and even then only sporadically. By January, he was frequently being left out of the match-day squad altogether.
It's apparent that Holman has something to offer, but it's equally apparent that he won't fit in with Paul Lambert's plans for Aston Villa. Given the fact that he wants to play for the Socceroos in the 2014 World Cup, Holman will need first-team playing time to be fit, so this move seems like a logical one. I hope he lands on his feet and impresses there, as I always sort of liked him. If nothing else, he gave us these two lovely goals (which are surprisingly similar), so it's hard to be too mad at him: