Nairobi — Harambee Stars striker Allan Wanga has signed a two-year contract with Vietnamese club Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC (HAGL).

Wanga , who was a free agent after his contract with Angolan side Petro Atletico ended lats December 31, had signed a two-year deal with Azerbaijan club Baku FC.

But with Kenya's poor rankings in Fifa, Wanga was unable to obtain a work permit and the Baku deal hit a dead end in July.

In the rankings released last month, Kenya are 116th, eight places better than Tanzania (124) and 15 above Rwanda (131) while Uganda top East Africa at 69, down six places.

"It feels very great to have signed for that team," said the 2007-2008 Kenyan Premier League top scorer by telephone from Tanzania.

Happy with the signing

"Although I had high hopes of playing in the Europa League after we failed to secure a Champions League slot with Baku, I'm happy with the signing."

Following a season at Tusker in 2007, Wanga moved to Petro Atletico in 2008-2009 before a stint with Armenian champions Punyik FC, who intended to sign him up in July, ended after they disagreed with the Angolan side on the fee.

Punyik then seconded him to Baku. Wanga then joined 2009 KPL champions Sofapaka as he "waited for the January transfer window".