PETALING JAYA: Striker Ebenezer Assifuah could be one of Kedah’s trump cards for the new season.
The 30-year-old former Ghanaian international was snapped up by the Canaries last season but he was utilised by Kedah II in the MFL Cup as he had just recovered from a long-term injury.
It was an arrangement to help him regain his match fitness and form, but Assifuah performed beyond expectations by becoming the competition’s top scorer with 16 goals.
Now, Kedah’s first team are hopeful that he can make his mark under coach Nafuzi Zain in the Super League.
“The coaching staff decided to evaluate his first six months before putting him in the first team and we realised that his performances in the MFL Cup warranted him a spot,” said a statement from the club.
“He could have even played for Nafuzi’s team last year but we did not want to affect his momentum with Kedah II, so we allowed him to complete the MFL Cup campaign.
“Ebenezer showed that he has not lost his speed or finishing despite the ACL injury that he suffered in 2021.”
Assifuah rose to prominence in 2013 when he was the FIFA Under-20 World Cup top scorer with six goals.
He has also played 29 times for the Ghana national team, scoring eight goals.
He joined Swiss club Sion for four years before joining French club Le Havre in 2017.
In 2020, he joined Pau but left the club in 2022 to tend to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Assifuah won’t be the only marksman that could spell danger for Kedah’s opponents as they have signed Serbian Milos Gordic and Syafiq Ahmad, who is on-loan from Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Gordic has impressed in the last two friendlies and Nafuzi hopes he can stay consistent before the season opener against Police on May 11.
“Gordic will need more time to reach his best level because he has to cope with several factors such as the weather and also the playing atmosphere here. But so far, I’m satisfied with how he is developing with the team.”
Kedah’s other new foreign signings are Brazilian Cleylton Dos Santos, Haitian Sony Norde, Bahraini Habib Haroon and Uzbekistani Sukhrob Nurullaev.
