Shaahee Sold
One of the Birds' longest drawn-out transfer sagas finally came to a conclusion, as wantaway 27 year-old former Maldives youth international
Shiya Shaahee signed off on a S$4.1 million move to Swiss Division Six club Progica. Shaahee has been promised a regular position after former first-choice Dennis Lyhblad leaves, which was enough for him to take the leap.
While a bit lower than the S$4.5 million that Grilled had initially sought, head coach
Niculae Stanca was just happy that the months-long impasse had resolved itself. "I wish Shiya all the best with his new employers." Stanca declared. "He was reliable whenever called upon, and will be an asset to Progica."
The writing has been on the wall since Stanca brought in
Low Aik Jia and then
Wong Ping Shun as direct competitors to Shaahee, however, but the former Grilled man harboured no hard feelings. "The decision to go was purely from the perspective of getting games." Shaahee, who started just forty for Grilled, said. "Otherwise, I would have been more than pleased to stay. As it is, parting is best for both me and the club."
Stanca for one is not looking back at all, as he took the opportunity to announce Grilled's participation in the TokCockSingSong tournament, which will be the club's first extracurricular activity since the SG Super Cup VIII. The draw has placed the Birds together with such luminaries as Isle of Flames and Joker 9, which will definitely be huge draws.
However, Stanca warned against expecting all-out clashes. "There has been a gentleman's agreement to field fair lineups, so expect some reserves to feature. They do deserve a platform to showcase their improvements too, and I have high hopes of Dorogan and Ross against J3 Almighty on Monday."
