Return Of Kannan
As it turned out,
Hilal Bakhtiar had not been sitting idly by as his team wobbled, and he would unveil a surprise signing - 33 year-old wide midfielder,
Shekar Kannan. Kannan should not be unfamiliar to local fans, having spent the first half of his career with Random Curiosity FC, with that technically including a season in the S-League, and then their only Singapore Cup-winning run thus far two seasons on, in which they defeated Arrogancae, Bot Team FC and Sarcastic Fringeheads in turn. Kannan would never be more than a bit-part player for Curiosity, however, and would be placed on the transfer list by mutual consent, soon after their cup glory. A fortnight later, he would be off to Poland's FC Południe Włocławek for S$6.3 million, having just turned twenty-five.
Kannan would move on to Germany's Ironix at that season's end, where he spent two years before leaving for former Campeonato Chileno side San Antonio Keepers. He spent two-and-a-half seasons in Chile before going to Dutch ex-Spek-en-Bonenschaal winners Plantage Amsterdam, before his homecoming to Singapore another three-and-a-half years later.
Having never broken into Random Curiosity FC's first team despite his fearsome natural pace, which saw Kannan earn his only youth international cap for a ten-minute appearance versus Turkey, there are signs that he has rounded his game somewhat; Plantage Amsterdam's wholesale clearout saw Kannan attract plenty of suitors, and he would initially be linked to a host of clubs including Gigione FC and POGGIO 1909 (both Italian Division Six), CAÑEROS DE ZACATEPEC MORELOS (Mexican Division Three), Hornillos CF (Spanish Division Six), Seat2020 (Austrian Division Five), Bianco e Nero (Moroccan Division Three) and Salernitana Calcio_1919 (Swiss Division Six).
While Salernitana Calcio_1919 and Gigione FC drove the most interest early on, Latvian fifth divisioners FC Limpopo pushed the price past S$2 million, which appeared to shut out much of the competition. Ambitious Welsh Division Two side AC Felitto United then took over with a charm offensive by head coach Fritz Klitgaard, only for Icelandic IV.8 outfit babayaga to offer some $3.2 million. Grilled Birds were willing to match that, however, and it wasn't a tough decision for Kannan from there.
Not one to undersell himself at this stage of his career, Kannan would pick the storied Number Eighteen shirt previously worn by Mohd Safri and Wu Jinglong, as Bakhtiar confirmed that he was meant to fill the gap that Wu had left. "Remember, Wu joined for S$5.5 million at 35, and was a top contributor for three whole seasons; why can't Shekar do the same?"
"Looking back, releasing several important members of our squad at a go might have disrupted our balance a little more than I thought it would." the Grilled head coach conceded. "Right wing has always been a troublesome position to fill, and while we have tried Teo, Kamel and Heng in an inverted role there so far this season, it's fair to say that none of them have been entirely convincing. That's where Kannan might help us out like Wu did, hopefully."
