Kelantan striker Nurshamil relieved to be a free man

PETALING JAYA: Striker Nurshamil Abd Ghani is finally free to leave Kelantan.

The Red Warriors have agreed to let the 28-year-old go by mutual consent after an earlier dispute where the wantaway player was told by the club he had to fork out RM50,000 as compensation despite the club not paying his bonuses and making their share of Nurshamil’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) payments.

Nurshamil even took his case to the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia but fortunately, the matter has now been resolved.

A relieved Nurshamil, a former Melaka and PKNS player, said: “I would like to thank Kelantan for releasing me by mutual consent. I pray that the club will become better in the future.

“I must thank them for giving me the chance to achieve something for myself and the team. Winning the Premier League last year and also scoring goals, it’s been immense.

“Though there were some bitter moments, I’ll always hold on to the sweet memories. And not forgetting the Kelantan fans, who accepted me as their own.”

It is learnt that Nurshamil has attracted interest from Penang and M3 club Harini.

He helped Kelantan win promotion to the Super League when they finished second in the Premier League last year and was also the top scorer with nine goals.

This season, he played seven games but started in only two of them, and scored just one goal.

Meanwhile, in another development, Negri Sembilan are now down to just three foreign players in their squad as Singaporean international Safuwan Baharuddin has left the club.

A source close to Safuwan said that he would be moving to a new team soon.

“Safuwan is being monitored by two Thai clubs, BG Pathum United and Nakhom Pathom United. He has also attracted interest from Selangor,’’ the source said.

Safuwan’s departure is a big blow to Negri coach K. Devan, who is seeking foreign reinforcements but has been told by the team management to rely on the local talent.

The other foreigners now left in the team are French centreback Herold Goulon, Togolese midfielder Levy Madinda, and Brazilian striker Casagrande.

Devan said the management had already issued a statement that no new signings will be made.

“We will not have any additional imports. I will work with what I have. We will give the youngsters a chance to prove themselves,” he said.

The versatile Safuwan will be sorely missed by Negri, as he had proven an effective centreback and even defensive midfielder in the 11 Super League matches he played with the team.