It has been a summer of change at Valletta.

Since winning a league and cup double last season, the Valletta squad has undergone something of a transformation with a host of players moving on and others joining the club.

Gilbert Agius, promoted to head coach after serving as assistant to Mark Miller and Andre Paus in the last two seasons, described some of the enforced changes as “hiccups”, with Brazilian Denni the latest to leave the club for family reasons, but the seemingly endless comings-and-goings have done little to dampen optimism about Valletta’s ability to challenge for the main honours.

This was the message conveyed by Valletta president Victor Sciriha yesterday as the champions presented their new signings at the Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel.

The newcomers are goalkeeper Nicky Vella, who has rejoined Valletta from Tarxien Rainbows, Malta defender Ryan Camilleri, signed from Hibernians, Maltese-Australian winger Adrian Zahra, Portuguese midfielder Hugo Faria, UAE defender Hamdan Alkamali and Cameroonian striker Raphael Kooh-Sohna.

“We have signed these players to replace those that have left,” Sciriha told reporters.

“The foreigners who joined us in January had the financial backing of our sponsors Insignia but they have decided not to extend their contracts.

“We did offer them the chance to stay but goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili has joined a top club in Russia and midfielder Irakli Maisuradze has moved to Anorthosis. Discussions with Brazilian Alan Da Silva Souza are still on-going.

“We have acquired new players and we still have until the end of August to make new additions.

“If we feel that the squad still needs some fine-tuning, we will certainly try to do so but I’m confident that we have already brought in valid players.”

Apart from Denni, Gambian midfielder Hamza Barry has agreed a move to Tunisian club Esperance, Malta defender Steve Borg is heading to South Africa to sign for Platinum Stars and midfielder Edmond Agius has switched to Birkirkara.

Valletta have also loaned out some fringe players. Yessous Camilleri has rejoined Żebbuġ Rangers, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza and Samir Arab are now at Balzan and Dyson Falzon has returned to Mosta.

After a glittering playing career with Valletta, Agius has taken charge of the first team in what is his first job as head coach.

“It’s a new experience for me,” Agius said. “As a player, I started from the bottom of the ladder.

“I made my debut for Valletta as a 16-year-old and never looked back. Now, I’m doing everything in my capacity to enjoy the same success I had as a player.”

On the team’s preparations for their Champions League second qualifying round match against Azerbaijan’s Qarabag and the new season, Agius said: “We as technical staff have been preparing the team as professionally as possible.

“In terms of the squad, we have encountered a lot of hiccups due to players changing clubs, especially the foreigners. Denni is also leaving but we have tried to bring in valid replacements.

“Every coach has his own ideas but I hope it will not take us long to find our feet. I must say that the players have conducted themselves brilliantly so far.

“In the past, there were suggestions that some of our players are difficult to handle but I have only found co-operation from them.”

Agius lamented the transfer system in Maltese football, saying it has become almost impossible for clubs to sign Maltese players as they have to pay transfer fees even for those who are out of contract.

This summer, Valletta have spent a significant sum of money to recruit Camilleri and Vella.

Qarabag potential

For Tuesday’s home leg against Qarabag, Agius will be without Llywelyn Cremona and goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo due to injuries.

Zahra, who played for Perth Glory last season, also picked up a minor injury during a friendly match.

“We are aware of their potential,” Agius said of Qarabag.

“We have watched the friendly matches they have played recently as Qarabag are doing a pre-season training camp in Austria.

“There is a difference in quality between the two sides but we are not downhearted.

“Qarabag made it to latter qualifying rounds of European competitions over the past few seasons. The second leg (away) will be very difficult as the results of the other Maltese teams in the return legs of the Europa League games show.

“Sometimes it’s not enough to study your opposition in detail as things can change quickly during games but we’re ready for the challenge.”

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