Casa In For Chong
Spanish eighth division debutants Casa la Noria FC made Farmer Bunnies trainee forward Tommy Chong their third signing ever, and their first non-free transfer, as they forked out S$162000 for the imposing 17 year-old. Known for his no-frills bullet headers with the Rancher Rabbits, Chong arguably hit the peak of his youth career several months back, when he bagged a hat-trick in a 9-0 rout of FC Plysak.
Casa la Noria FC were a late entrant in the race to sign him, as it was mostly Serangoon Division Four side FC Phondle tussling with Italian Division Eight outfit Dragon Wings FC for some days. Casa gaffer Enrique Leca was nothing if not decisive and persuasive, however, and almost before the other bidders knew it, Chong was on the way to the airport to catch the next flight to Castile and León.
There wasn't too much that Rabbits chief scout Tong Han Kong could add. "Tommy's as much of a throwback as they come - big, brave, likes them played to his head - but he has some nice little tricks in his locker too. They seldom expect that."
It remained almost jarringly quiet at The Cooking Pot, as Grilled Birds continued counting the days down, to what might be the biggest moment in their history yet; a few sources had linked the club to Iranian winger Mohammad Reza Daei, but he wound up moving to Poland's Franek Kraków for S$12.4 million.
