ASEAN PLAYERS HEAD TO EUROPE

The two players – defender Mohd Asraruddin Putra Omar and goalkeeper Khairul Fahmie – will spent a week at PSV Eindhoven where they will be training with the U23 team of the club.

Both players are 18-years-old.

“It is a good opportunity and even though I know we have only a short period of time to impress the selectors, still I hope that we can do enough to show them that we have what it takes to play for PSV,” said Asraruddin.

The trip for the two Malaysian lads was a result of the recent Champions Youth Cup (CYC) which was held in Kuala Lumpur with the scout at PSV Eindhoven impressed with what he saw from the two boys.

The announcement from Malaysia follows recent development in Thailand where three players – Suree Sukha, Kiatprawut Saiwaew and Teerasil Dangda – were signed to Manchester City.

Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson insisted that the signing had little to do with club chairman Thaksin Shinawatra although he admitted that it is unlikely that the trio will get to play in the current English Premier League.

“To tell the truth, these three players will not be playing in the English Premier League this year,” Eriksson said.

“They have to prove whether they are able to play in the Premier League or not.”

The three Thai internationals signed for three years with City for an undisclosed sum.

“It’s a great honour and I hope young Thai players will work harder if they want to play in Europe,” added Suree.