Arbroath have announced the signing of former Newcastle United prospect Yasin Ben El-Mhanni.
The 26-year-old has put pen to paper on a short-term deal until January.
The London-born winger signed for the Toon in 2016 after attracting interest from a host of top clubs down south, including Chelsea.
Despite not playing many games of first team football, El-Mhanni has had an interesting footballing career.
Before joining Newcastle, he flew to Spain to act as a body double for Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar in TV commercials due to his silky skills on the ball.
He then featured 24 times for the Newcastle reserves but never quite made the grade for the first team.
He did feature twice for The Magpies in 2017 with then-boss Rafa Benetiz handing him a debut in the FA Cup, where he featured 70 minutes in a third round replay win over Birmingham.
He then made his second and final appearance for Newcastle in the next round of the cup as Benetiz’s side suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Oxford.
Beardsley controversy
His time in a black and white jersey was not a happy one. He lodged a complaint against coach Peter Beardsley in January 2018, accusing him of bullying and discrimination.
The complaint was upheld and a subsequent investigation from the FA saw the Toon hero charged .
El-Mhanni departed St James’ Park that summer, joining Scunthorpe United.
After two seasons at the Iron, he then dropped to the non-leagues with Chesham United and, most recently, Harrow Borough.
Ready for Arbroath challenge
The Englishman could make his Lichties’ debut on Wednesday night when his new side play host to Raith Rovers.
El-Mhanni only met his new teammates for the first time on Monday night but, speaking to Arbroath TV, he said he is desperate to show what he can do on the pitch.
“I want to hit the ground running and help the team out by putting in some performances,” he said.
“The staff, manager and his assistant have been great with me. We’ve spoken and I know what I need to do. I’m just looking to get on that pitch as soon as possible and help the team out.
“They are a lovely bunch of lads here. Everyone is friendly and it’s a good team.
“I’ve watched a bit of Scottish football and it’s a good level to be at. It’s somewhere a lot of players will want to come and play and get their career back up and running.
“There is a lot to play for here and we want to get ourselves shooting up that table.”
Conversation