Kleden Accepted
Grilled International promoted 17 year-old Busy Bees trainee
Collin Kleden to the main squad today, with Kleden taking on the Number 25 jersey last owned by Yavor Babanski.
Observers were divided on the decision, with many noting that he has not exhibited skill anywhere near comparable to Internationa's last batch of youth carryovers, which includes the likes of
Wang Chu Chi,
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh and
Wang Hanxuan; head coach
Tajit bin Mohd defended the move on Kleden's intangibles.
"It's not all about what you can see, at this age." Tajit explained. "Collin's still growing, he's nowhere near his full size yet, but more than that he approaches football in a very... holistic manner. You can train a guy to run faster to an extent, or even to plan out passes, but there aren't many who can make it all come together."
Tajit admitted that space was at a premium too, however. "We've a fair few pretty decent wingers who've graduated from the Bees too, but that's more than we can take on. Rest assured, we're doing all we can to reach out to interested parties."
