KUALA LUMPUR: Brazilian forward Patrick Cruz is expected to make his debut for Pahang in Saturday’s Super League match against Selangor at the KL Football Stadium in Cheras.
Cruz, a late signing, will pair up with Liberian Francis Doe in attack if he is selected to play in the match.
The 24-year-old, who previously played for T-Team, is a replacement to Brazilian defender Alex Moraes.
The other foreign signings are Cambodian Chan Vathanaka, Singaporean Safuwan Baharudin and Gambian Mohamadou Sumareh.
Coach Dollah Salleh dropped Moraes, who has been excellent in defence, purely for tactical reasons as the former international wants more quality in attack.
Safuwan, who can play as a centre back and a midfielder, is now expected to fill the void left by Alex.
Dollah believes the Cruz and Doe partnership will be as good as the combination of Matias Conti and Dickson Nwakaeme, who were the Super League’s most efficient attack in 2014.
Sumareh said the presence of Cruz will add depth into Pahang’s attack.
He said Pahang did not enjoy a good start to the season with only one point from two matches before the 3-0 victory over Kelantan.
“We dominated the opening two matches, but we failed to find the net. Doe was signed just before the match against Kelantan and he subsequently scored our first goal of the season,” said Sumareh.
"The team need to continue winning. We need to play to Dollah’s instructions against Selangor.”