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LONDON: Al-Hilal have signalled their intention to have another serious crack at the AFC Champions League by signing Argentine forward Ezequiel Cerutti.
Cerutti, 26, has joined from San Lorenzo where he has scored six goals in 48 games. No fee was mentioned in the official announcement by the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵn giants but transferMarkt.com estimate his current value as £3.5 million ($4.9 million). 
Cerutti can play as a striker but he is likely to be deployed out wide after Salem Al-Dawsari moved to Villarreal as part of the recent deal between the General Sports Authority and the Liga du Futbol that saw ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ players loaned out to Spanish clubs. Cerutti was expected to make his debut for Al-Hilal in Tuesday night’s Saudi Professional League clash over bottom club Al-Raed. But the new signing did not take part in the 2-1 win, a result that ended a three-match winless streak and eased the pressure on under-fire coach Ramon Diaz. 
The victory means Al-Hilal are still top of the table, two points clear of Al-Ahli, but their attention will soon turn to the AFC Champions League (ACL), a competition they reached the final of last season before being agonizingly downed over two legs by Japan’s Urawa Reds.
They kick off their ACL campaign on Feb. 13 at home against Al-Ain but Diaz has plenty to ponder before then, not least which of his seven foreign players to select for the competition.
Al-Hilal have the Brazilian Carlos Eduardo, Morocco’s Achraf Bencharki, Gelmin Rivas, of Venezuela, Uruguay’s Nicolás Milesi, Oman’s Ali Al-Habsi, Syria’s Omar Khribin and now Cerutti on their books, but they are only allowed to name four foreign players, including one Asian player. 
Diaz’s job is made slightly easier by the fact that Eduardo is ruled out with a long-term injury while Khribin is certain to be named after scoring ten goals in last season’s competition. It is also hard to imagine Cerutti not being named having only just signed. However, that still leaves Bencharki, Rivas, Milesi and Al-Habsi jostling for the two remaining spots.
Al-Hilal are in Group D along with Al-Rayyan, Esteghlal and Al-Ain. 
The signing also signals the desire of the club to look to foreign stars to bolster their squad as they look to tackle title-tilts on multiple fronts.