PETALING JAYA: The transfer window opens on Aug 26, but deep-pocketed Johor Darul Ta’zim are already busy with their shopping.
A month ago, club owner and Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said that a few changes would be made to the team and it is learnt that the club could make up to six new signings in the second window.
The Southern Tigers have already announced three new names.
South Korean centreback Park Jun-heong has already been present as a new player with the defending Super League champions, while French winger Enzo Lombardo, from the Spanish second-division side Huesca, and goalkeeper Christian Abad Amat have also signed on.
The 27-year-old Lombardo is a left winger capable of playing on both flanks and also as a striker.
Amat, who was born in Spain but has Malaysian ancestry, was with Spanish side Elche’s youth set-up and has also trained in Valencia and Alcoyano in the past.
At 18, he is surely being earmarked for the future and is expected to compete for a spot with other goalkeepers Ahmad Syihan Hazmi and Izham Tarmizi Roslan.
With the new signings, the big question is: Who are the foreign players who will be leaving?
JDT have winger Fernando Forestieri (Argentina), striker Bergson Da Silva, playmaker Heberty Fernandes and leftback Murilo Henrique (all Brazil), wingback Oscar Arribas (the Philippines), centreback Shane Lowry (Australia), midfielder Juan Muniz (Spain), playmaker Francisco Geraldes (Portugal), centreback Jordi Amat (Indonesia) and midfielder Jalil Elias (Syria) on their books.
Teams are only allowed to have 10 foreign players under Malaysian Football League (MFL) rules.
One name that is hogging the headlines is Elias, who is rumoured to be returning to Argentina to play for his former club San Lorenzo.
Forestieri, who has been a sensation for the club since 2022, may also leave, with several Middle Eastern clubs showing interest in the 34-year-old.
JDT’s splurge on the foreign market shows that they intend to continue dominating the domestic scene while also trying to conquer the AFC Champions League, which will kick off in September.
The second transfer window is from Aug 26 to Sept 26.
