PETALING JAYA: Sabah have unveiled photos of their training sessions during pre-season and one figure has piqued the interest of many fans.
Standing at 1.85m, former Greece Under-19 international Haris Stamboulidis (pic) is training with the Rhinos but is not yet officially their player.
The 27-year-old is undergoing trials with the club as coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee revealed that they are assessing his ability.
He also said it depends on the management if they want to sign the Melbourne-born player, who can play in defence or midfield, for the upcoming season.
“He looks good in training but we will further assess his abilities. If everything goes well, the management will discuss it. I know the budget this season is not the same as the last two seasons,” said Kim Swee.
“If the lad impresses, we hope to come to a deal that is win-win for the player and the club. If he does join us, he could be the final signing for us.”
The foreigners Kim Swee currently has at his disposal are Brazilians Ramon Machado (striker) and Gabriel Peres (centreback), South Koreans Park Tae-su (midfielder) and Ko Kwang-min, (winger), Indonesian winger Saddil Ramdani, Spanish midfielder Miguel Cifuentes and Portuguese playmaker Telmo Castanheira.
Kim Swee admitted that many agents have been calling him about players to add to his foreign contingent but he said the club are not going to burst the bank.
“I have to be honest with all these agents, we do not have big money to sign players. Those who are willing to come, they can come but at the end of the day, it is dollars and cents. So we will see if Haris is keen to take up the offer if given.”
As for friendlies, Kim Swee is hopeful of organising some matches in Kota Kinabalu and invitations have been sent to Malaysian and Singapore clubs.
“We will also inform you if we will hold a pre-season tournament in April or early May. The management will decide on this matter.”
As for the season’s target, Kim Swee is hopeful that they can finish in the top five in the league with the squad that he has.
The target seems achievable as he has kept the crux of his squad for the new season.
Some of the key players in Sabah are playing in the national team. They are striker Darren Lok, midfielder Stuart Wilkin, leftback Daniel Ting and centreback Dominic Tan.
