PETALING JAYA: Be wary of Kedah’s new defender Jose Cleylton dos Santos (pic) of Brazil.
The Canaries have sent out a warning to all strikers competing in the Super League to brace themselves for a tough time as they believe Dos Santos’ presence will strengthen their backline.
The 31-year-old from Fortaleza, Brazil, who stands tall at 1.90m, is expected to fill the void in the centreback position left behind by Serbian defender Bojan Ciger.
The club said Dos Santos’ stature will come in handy as they prepare themselves for the new season starting next month.
“With a height of 1.90m, he has the right physique to drive the midfield,” said the club in a statement.
“His presence will strengthen the last line alongside experienced local players such as Rizal Ghazali, Wan Amirul Afiq Wan Abdul Rahman, Akmal Mohd Zahir and Ariff Farhan Md Isa.”
Starting his career in Sao Paulo, Dos Santos spent several years playing in Portugal before stints in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, where he was teammates with Habib Haroon in Al-Khaldiya.
Dos Santos returned to Brazil in 2021 and played for Ponte Preta, Chapecoense, and finally Ipatinga, before his move to Malaysia.
As Dos Santos only arrived in Alor Setar yesterday, it is unsure if he will be included in head coach Nafuzi Zain’s roster of players heading to Kuala Terengganu this week for the Agarbomb Performance Cup.
The tournament involving Kedah, Terengganu, Terengganu 2 (TFC 2), and Penang will serve as a testing period for Nafuzi to get things right in his squad.
Kedah will play TFC 2 tomorrow, Terengganu on Friday, and Penang on Sunday.
As they prepare for the tournament, the future of the club still remains hazy as they had been handed a three-point deduction for the upcoming season and were fined for failing to settle salary arrears from 2023.
Kedah have until April 20 to submit proof that they will settle the payments or face having their national licence revoked, which would leave them ineligible to compete in the league next season.
If all goes well for Kedah, they will start their new season against Police on May 11.
