Laud Signal
Farmer Bunnies continued their stockpiling of talent, as they welcomed Kim Tae Hee FC's
Lau Chang Wan less than a week after
Nashrullah Alim's arrival.
Elias van Dal acknowledged that Grilled Birds youth coaches had alerted him to Lau's promise after he had captained Jeon Ji Hyun FC to a 5-1 win over the Chicken Wings in their last meeting, putting in a cool-headed penalty on top of that.
"Tham Beng Li told us that he was as natural a fullback as he had seen at youth level." van Dal explained, justifying the Bunnies' near-million dollar outlay. "Not only is he eager to get up and down the wing, which is common enough, he has a great sense of when not to do so."
This assessment was apparently shared by Finnish Division Four club NFAA, who took the bidding for Lau's first transfer fee from S$300000 to the final sum of S$942000. Before that, CD Dortmund (German Division Five), popolopo99 (Israeli Division Six) and Albi Revolution FC (Portuguese Division Five) had gone in for Lau, but declined to contest further once NFAA entered the fray.
"Had it not been for NFAA, we might have gotten Lau for a song, as we did Alim." van Dal noted, a touch ruefully. "But in the end, they don't come much more complete than Lau, and the final price was about right for one of his calibre."
"In any case, it's downright reasonable compared to what comparable guys are fetching - memorias de un perro mutante have put S$3 million down for Robbie Football Club's Teng Huat Puay, as I'm sure you've heard. A couple of others have hit that level too these few months."
As it goes, Bunnies' best bet for such fat transfer fees out of their youth team rests on striking prodigy Ong Kok Long, already the Rancher Rabbits' star turn despite not yet turning sixteen. Two in their 9-1 rout of English hosts Mile End United only burnished expectations, which have probably already surpassed the hype surrounding
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim in his time.
Not all stories end so well, unfortunately, with Kang Meng Jia recently being released from the Rabbits after getting cut from the Chicken Wings. Rabbits graduate winger Abdul Rashid Harun may also be on the way out after failing to secure a new club, while Wings alumni Manhar Suryawanshi and Amaluddin Aizat have already confirmed their intentions to quit.
