Salifu out to make Selangor fans proud

Salifu: ‘I see that Selangor have a lot of supporters, which is one of the reasons why I chose to come here.’

PETALING JAYA: Rauf Salifu may be just 20, but he is well mature beyond his age.

The Ghanaian striker is Selangor’s latest signing and joins compatriots – defender Richmond Ankrah and midfielder Alex Agyarkwa – for the Red Giants’ Super League assault this season.

“This is my first time in Asia. The weather in here is similar to Ghana, so I’m sure this will help me to adapt quickly,” said Salifu.

“I see that Selangor have a lot of supporters, which is one of the reasons why I chose to come here. For that, I will try to make them proud of this club and not let them down.”

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe will have some relief with Salifu’s arrival especially with current strikers Herlison Caion and Hyuri Henrique leaving the team.

Salifu played for his hometown club Accra Lions from 2018 to 2021. In the 2020-21 season, he scored 21 goals in 28 matches to help them get promoted to the Ghana Premier League.

His exceptional statistics caught the eyes of Sporting Kansas City II in the MLS NEXT Pro League last year. During his loan spell, he scored six goals in 17 appearances.

Besides Salifu, Selangor have also signed Jordan international midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh who has followed the footsteps of national teammate Yazan Al-Arab to ply his trade with the Red Giants.

Cheng Hoe has also managed to lure top national striker Faisal Halim from Terengganu as well as defenders Khuzaimi Piee and V. Ruventhiran from Negri Sembilan and PJ City respectively.

Under Cheng Hoe, Selangor were unbeaten in nine of the 11 matches in the Super League and the Malaysia Cup competitions.

They lost 2-1 to JDT in the Malaysia Cup final.

The former national coach is looking forward to taking Selangor to the AFC Cup competition and looking at the impressive arrivals, the fans will be hoping to witness the rise of the Red Giants again.