Hype Overdrive
The senior team's indifferent fortunes might have discouraged a subset of Grilled followers, but when it comes to the youth side, the club could hardly have hoped for better tidings - and they are concentrated in one slight frame, that of Chan Ze Han.
The Wings have known that they had an extremely special talent on their hands for some years, but the full extent of Chan's arsenal is only beginning to become apparent. Today's 5-0 bashing of Russian U-20 side San-Maria Angels only showcased just how far the 16 year-old had come, as a bevy of international scouts could hardly suppress their excitement.
The Chicken Wings' Tham Beng Li confirmed that the buzz was real. "I never imagined that I would see a young player surpass Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim here in my lifetime, but it's become clear to me that Chan has done it."
"No, they're definitely not directly comparable - Mohd Safri has strengths that Chan simply doesn't, and vice-versa - but on a whole, if I had to pick just one of them at this age for a world championship game, I'd take Chan. And that must be saying something!"
The media circus is coming to a crescendo, with Chan now less than a month away from professional eligibility, with scattered sources suggesting that the prodigy is considering a move abroad. As to that, while Tham did not refute it explicitly, he remained quietly confident.
"From what we know, he's a fan of the club, he likes it here, and he's staying. And we're going to help him fulfil his potential."
