Cameroon's World Cup striker Patrick Mboma is returning to the J-League, where he will play for Verdy.

The 2000 African Footballer of the Year was under contract to Libyan side Al Ittihad, where had been in a dispute over unpaid salaries.

Mboma dazzled fans in his first J-League spell with Gamba Osaka in 1997-1998, after moving from French club Paris Saint-Germain.

He scored 25 goals to become the J-League's top scorer in 1997.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday that 32-year-old Mboma, who helped Cameroon clinch the 2000 Olympic and African titles, reached a basic agreement with the club.

Mboma has had a chequered European club career in recent years.

He moved to Italian club Cagliari after a disappointing performance at the 1998 World Cup and switched to AC Parma in 2000.

But a run of poor form in the Calcio saw him being loaned to English Premiership side Sunderland last season, after which he made a surprise move to Libya.

Verdy finished fourth in the second stage of last season's 16-club first division and need Mboma to fill the gap left by former Brazil forward Edmundo.

"I think Mboma's return to Japan could be a very good move for Verdy," Sho Midoro, a journalist with the mass circulation Asahi Shimbun newspaper, told BBC Sport Online.

"He is still a player with a big reputation and a lot of popularity in Japan, after his achievements with Gamba Osaka."