Teletabiai's Shah
Grilled International bid farewell to one of their best youth players, Manish Shah, as the box-to-box midfielder signed with Lithuanian fifth division leaders Teletabiai. "It's kind of a shame."
Roar Olaisen was moved to say. "A number of years back, Shah would have walked into our rotation. Unfortunately, we don't have that room in our squad these days, and he'd not get the playing time he deserves."
Word of Shah's ability had evidently gotten out, given that he had received several solid offers some months before his eligibility date, from Splint (Swedish Division Five), Colico United (Northern Irish Division Three) and Czarni United (Polish Division Six). As the deadline closed, however, it would be between Teletabiai and Israeli VI.281 outfit Maccabi nesher haifa, with the former eventually prevailing.
Manish admitted to being sorely tempted by Maccabi's package. "They were very generous and welcoming, same as Teletabiai. It came down to personal feel, and I figured that Sviglinskas had assembled a very good collection of young players like Zatorskis and Winsauer, who complemented my style."
To Olaisen, the S$90000 that International received was close to a robbery. "It's near-criminal that such a talent can go for so cheap, but that's the market for you. We will be keeping an eye on Shah, that's for sure!"
All-rounder Rohan Pathak meanwhile went on a free to Germany's Dormagen, with the VI.678 competitors undergoing a rebuilding process under Gérard Disdier, who has come under fire for the club's recent poor run. Pathak was assured that it would not affect his development process, however. "I got the impression that they have a rational system, and the will to see long-term plans through, here."
This attention to detail was certainly in keeping with Pathak's personality, according to his Chicken Wings academy mates. "Rohan was always the careful sort." Soo Leong Min remarked. "Not the quickest or the flashiest, but we could always rely on him to do the sensible thing."
