Arabian Falcons manager Shelvey unveils Premier League winner Danny Simpson as first signing

DUBAI: Arabian Falcons FC manager Jonjo Shelvey has announced the club’s first major signing of the season, with Premier League winner Danny Simpson coming out of retirement to join as player-coach.

The 39-year-old right back, who won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016, has signed for the UAE Second Division side and will combine playing duties with a coaching role in Shelvey’s backroom team.

Simpson is the latest high-profile former Premier League player to join the ambitious Falcons project, creating a formidable leadership group alongside Shelvey, fellow ex-Premier League star and club captain Ravel Morrison, and co-owner and Head of Football Operations Jason Puncheon.

A product of Manchester United’s academy, Simpson enjoyed a distinguished career in English football. He won promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers.

He played a key role in Leicester City’s historic 2015-16 Premier League title triumph, one of the greatest sporting underdog stories of all time. Simpson made 30 league appearances that season and earned a winner’s medal as the Foxes defied 5,000-1 odds to lift the trophy.

Shelvey, himself a former iconic Premier League midfielder with over 300 top-flight appearances for clubs including Liverpool, Newcastle United, Swansea City and Burnley, has made a swift transition into management.

Capped six times by England, Shelvey joined Arabian Falcons as a player before stepping into the managerial role for the final five games of last season.

His impressive impact in that short period saw the team mount a late promotion charge, narrowly missing out. Now entering his first full season in the dugout, Shelvey is using the summer transfer