IPOH, Jan 3 — Perak FC have signed up two local players and an Asean quota import player to strengthen the team for the 2021 Malaysian League (M League) season which is expected to kick off on February 26.

Perak Football Association (Pafa) president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the two local players are former Kedah goalkeeper Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani and former UiTM FC defender Muhammad Danish Haziq Saipul Hisham while the import player was Singapore national defender Muhammad Shakir Hamzah.

“Their inclusion in the team will give an extra tonic and add value to the Perak squad which have retained a large number of existing players from last season.

“We also hope that these three players will be able to help the team, especially in the Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup championships,” he said at a press conference in conjunction with the Perak FC 2021 Dinner at the Perak Mentri Besar’s official residence here last night.

Apart from that, he said Perak FC would also likely bring in two more players including an Asian quota import striker to fill the vacancy left by former national striker, Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi who will now play for Selangor.

“At this point, we are not able to reveal the identity of our imported player but what can be shared is we are evaluating a player from the Middle East and also South Korea,” he said.

Apart from that, he said seven players from last season’s squad were no longer with the team and among them were Shahrel Fikri, Mohamad Hafiz Ramdan, Ahmad Khairil Anuar Ahmad Zamri, Khairul Amri Salehuddin, K. Sathiya, Antony Golec and Chanthacheary Bin.

“We would like to thank them for their services and also wish them good luck with their new team,” he said.

Commenting on the Perak FC II playing in the Premier League, Ahmad Faizal said the squad would be managed by former Pafa technical director Syamsul Saad to replace last season’s coach, Abu Bakar Fadzim.

He added that 11 players who played for Perak in the President’s Cup have been identified to be absorbed into the team while the selection of the remaining players will be determined by the head coach.

“This team will also use only two import players. This is because, we want to create more opportunities for local players to play and fill any needs of the Perak FC team in the event of injury, suspension or poor performances,” he said. — Bernama