TurkishMauser Take Two
Newly-created Turkish sixth division entrants TurkishMauser would draw upon the Grilled production line for their initial recruitment drive, as they signed the Birds' Chiang Heng Min and International's Romeo Gobuyan on free transfers. Hungarian head coach Ádám Oláh has cast a wide net with his other teenage trainees having been sourced from Cameroon, Angola, Hong Kong, Canada and France; of these, 19 year-old French playmaker Vincent Fortune boasted of the longest track record by a distance, with TurkishMauser being his fourth club after leaving KouikySC. His one-and-a-half seasons in Germany with Sambuca99 had arguably been so-so, though, as reflected in they discount they gave in allowing him to move for S$100,000.
But back to Chiang and Gobuyan - Chiang had been labeled as a modern-type defender by his coaches at the Chicken Wings, with his preference for passing his way out of defence noted by observers. This has landed him in hot water occasionally, but Birds assistant coach Nuh Alawee Ramli was loathe to discourage him. "It's a good habit to cultivate. Good teams play their way out from the back nowadays."
Romeo Gobuyan for his part had endured two-and-a-half months of waiting, and was on the verge of turning eighteen when TurkishMauser put in their offer. A prospective left winger, Gobuyan would be disadvantaged by his lack of defining traits, though he was like Chiang seen as a decent passer. This should put him in good stead with Oláh, who has emphasized a team-building philosophy in assembling his squad.
This good news came sadly after several of their youth club teammates had quit their own searches, with Chiangs' Wings buddy Justin Tao not finding any interest for a new midfielder. The same went for the Busy Bees' forward hopeful Johari bin Hj Jais and backup goalkeeper Marvin Jakiri, neither of whom found takers. Bees scout Adinath Pant was particularly disappointed at Johari's pending fate. "Jo was one of our most dynamic strikers when he arrived, but I guess he hasn't developed as much as we would have wished. I'm trying to get him a few more trials, before he leaves the game for good."
