Aberystwyth Town secure double transfer swoop for former Liverpool pair
Aberystwyth Town have made their first two signings under Antonio Corbisiero this month. (Pic by Nik Mesney/FAW)
Aberystwyth Town have announced the double signing of Abdi Sharif and Cuba Cline.
The Seasiders are making some additions to their squad as they bid to avoid relegation from the Cymru Premier. Aberystwyth find themselves at the bottom of the table and five points adrift ahead of the final game of Phase One.
Both players come from a background in youth football, were previously on the books of Liverpool. Sharif is a central midfielder and Cline is a right-back. They arrive after Elliot Scotcher joined from Haverfordwest County.
Aberystwyth signing numer two… Abdi Sharif
Sharif is a 24-year-old midfielder who was most recently at Wigan Athletic. He was released by Latics in the summer, having played for their under-21s team. Wigan gave him a run out in the EFL Trophy last season, and he finished strongly at the DW Stadium.
He began his career with Liverpool, and made a combined 74 appearances for their under-18 and under-21s teams. Sharif notched up eight assists and three goals for Liverpool. During his time on Merseyside, Reds legend Steven Gerrard described Sharif as a ‘strong-runner‘.
Aberstwyth’s first signing of the January window was born in Somalia and was capped at senior level in 2023. At Liverpool, he played regularly in the same team as Neco Williams, Curtis Jones, and Caoimhin Kelleher.
Sharif was a member of Liverpool’s FA Youth Cup winning team in 2019, which later let to him signing his first professional contract. Their cup winning team included Neco, as well as Vitezslav Jaros who this season made his debut for the first-team.
Speaking to the official club website, Corbs said: “Abdi is a player with an abundance of talent – he has excellent feet, is very lively, and needed only one training session with us to demonstrate his quality on the pitch and his positive attitude toward the game.
“We’re very excited to work with him and believe he will be an excellent addition to our squad for the remainder of the season.”
Embed from Getty ImagesAberystwyth signing numer three…. Cuba Cline
Cline’s most recent club was Leeds United. The 20-year-old spent three years with the Whites, and appeared for both their under-18 and under-21s team.
He is predominantly a right-back but is capable of playing at left-back and even deputised before in the centre. Cline made six appearances in the Premier League 2 last season for Leeds. In total, he made 35 appearances across their two age grade teams.
During his time at Elland Road, he came through at the same time as Archie Gray, Mateo Joseph, and Wales senior international Charlie Crew.
“Cuba is a very strong and powerful right-back with excellent ability who has settled in very well over the past month or so in training,” said Corbisiero about Cline to the official club website.
“We’re very much looking forward to working with him and seeing what he and Abdi can bring to the squad as we push on into Phase 2 of the season.”
Both players could make their debuts for Aberystwyth on Saturday (January 11). They host relegation rivals Briton Ferry at Park Avenue with a 12.45 pm kick-off scheduled.
