As it turned out, Vishnu Tallapaka was not done with his strengthening of the squad, as he introduced 32 year-old former Uruguayan youth international defensive midfielder Mauro Fau to the Buns today. Fau cost a bargain S$4.5 million from Hungarian Division Four club Zakó Fc., who had in turn paid Czech III.10 outfit Krhanice close to S$6.5 million at the beginning of the season. Krhanice themselves had laid out S$18.6 million some seven years before that, with Fau hailed as their saviour, as he arrived from his local Montevideo side La Banda Fútbol Club.

While Fau's credentials are, objectively speaking, no exactly on a par with the Buns' previous generation of homegrown legends such as Tham Leng Teck and Kwek Yun Jie, he together with Ho Ah Kian should comfortably rank in the top few names on the roster at the current moment, as Tallapaka sees it. "We need a little more star power to guide the youngsters through, and Fau fits the bill nicely."

Fau, who will keep the Number Fourteen shirt he wore at Zakó Fc., does indeed have a reputation for assisting trainees, and he is hoping to make plenty of new friends - and perhaps pick up some silverware - in his time with the Buns. "Vishnu has maybe the biggest concentration of fine young defensive talent that I have ever seen in a single club." he declared. "It would be great if we could learn from each other."

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