Teams look to Indonesia, Singapore to fill Asean quota
PLAYERS from Indonesia and Singapore will be in high demand now that an Asean quota has been introduced for next year's Super League.
Super League teams are allowed to hire an additional import, making it five foreign players for each side in total, but with the proviso that the fifth signing must be an Asean national team member with at least 30 caps.
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are looking at hiring Indonesian players while Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) and Pahang already have a Singaporean on their books.
Players from Thailand and Vietnam are also set to attract the interest of Super League teams but the M-League has not proven to be a draw for players from the two countries.
That leaves Indonesia and Singapore to become a hunting ground for Super League teams with the added benefit of players from these two countries being able to adapt quickly to life in Malaysia given the similar cultures.
Myanmar, whose players once regularly featured in Malaysia, could be another target for Super League teams.
Kuala Lumpur FA general secretary Nokman Mustaffa said the newly-promoted city side are in the market for an Indonesian defender.
"We need reinforcement in our defence and if we can find a suitable centre-back from Indonesia, it would solve a lot of our problems," he said.
Selangor have expressed interest in signing Indonesian midfielder Evan Dimas Darmono from Bhayangkara, the Indonesian Liga 1 champions, and may also retain Andik Vermansyah despite reports saying the Indonesian winger has been released.
However, Pahang stole a march on everyone else by signing Singapore's Safuwan Baharudin from Premier League side Police even before Football Malaysia LLP's announcement on the new ruling on Monday.
Super League and Malaysia Cup champions JDT, meanwhile, welcomed back Singapore midfielder Hariss Harun from a loan spell at Home United.
Last season, only three players from Asean countries plied their trade in the Super League.
Besides Andik at Selangor, the others were Singapore forward Sahil Suhaimi at Sarawak and Philippines midfielder Mark Hartmann, who started the season with Sarawak and ended it with Penang.
Three Asean players also turned out in the Premier League with Safuwan and his compatriot Yasir Hanapi featuring for Police while Indonesian Steven Imbiri played half a season for MISCMIFA. Devinder Singh