SHAH ALAM: Singapore international Faris Ramli will likely be Selangor’s fifth foreign signing for next season’s M-League.
Faris, who has more than 20 caps under his belt, is regarded as one of the best wingers in Southeast Asia and his inclusion will be a welcome boost for Selangor coach P. Maniam for the new season.
Selangor have signed four foreigners in Indonesia internationals Evan Dimas and Ilham Udin Armaiyn along with former Brazilian Under-20 defender Willian Pacheco while Spanish striker Rufino Segovia was retained from last season’s squad.
It is learnt that the FA of Selangor and the 25-year-old Faris have negotiated on a deal, but the player has yet to pen down his commitment to the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions.
With only a small budget, Selangor have decided not to sign any big local names. They have promoted several youth players from their President’s Cup team. However, Selangor are still expected to pose a serious threat to the contenders for the Super League crown.
Maniam declined to comment on Faris but said the club are looking for a quality fifth foreign signing.
“Of course, it would be better for the club to have five foreigner instead of four. It all depends on whether the management want to sign another foreigner,” said Maniam.
Among the seniors retained from last season are goalkeeper Khairulazhan Khalid, Amri Yahyah, Saiful Ridzuwan Selamat, Abdul Halim Zainal while the new local signings are Azamuddin Akil, Joseph Kalang Tie and Sean Eugene Selvaraj.
Maniam said he is happy with the progress of his players in training.
“I have 29 players in my squad and all, except those on national duty, reported on Monday. Everyone are doing well. We have many youth players, so I am trying to help them blend in with the seniors,” said Maniam.