The Birds continued on their hunt for new blood, and obtained the 18 year-old Michele Salieri from Italian Division Seven club Real cipollina for S$102 000, in a more understated transaction compared to their pursuit of Martin Torsson the day before. Hungarian Division Seven side Red Bull United FC expressed lukewarm interest too, but did not follow up on their initial bid.

"We tried scouring the island for local lads, but young strikers appeared hard to come by." possibly-outgoing coach Marcus Liehner explained. "Well, there are those like Italy-based Xiong Kunqi, but he's a little overpriced for us. We have to sell before we buy nowadays."

"Of course, we have Mohd Safri coming from our youth academy, in what must be the most anticipated debut since Chuancheng's, and perhaps Meng Guang's. We have already all but promised him senior action when he takes the step up, and from how he's doing at youth level, he certainly deserves it."

Unlike Torsson, Salieri is known to be a more one-dimensional striker, who however has been known to confound the expectations of opposition managers. "One day, he's playing with his back to goal, and another day, he runs at the defence like a bat out of hell." a scout commented. "Of course, it doesn't always work out, but Salieri isn't shy about taking his chances. He should fit in perfectly with his countryman, Ciro Penati, at Grilled."

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