SELANGOR are confident they have the players to replace Safee Sali when the striker leaves to play in the Indonesian Super League.
Safee, who starred in last year's AFC Cup, has have accepted an offer to play for in Indonesian club. The striker will make an official announcement at the FA of Selangor (FAS) head office today on which club he has signed with -- Persib Bandung or Pelita Jaya.
"Safee is irreplaceable and his absence will be felt. There is no hiding from that. He has been our star player," said Selangor coach K. Devan yesterday.
"FAS decided to release Safee as he wants to pursue his dream to play professional football abroad. It will be unfair if we had stopped him."
Safee is expected to earn more than double the salary Selangor are paying him. The FAS are also expected to be well compensated by the Indonesian club side who will buy out Safee's contract.
The Super League champions are a well-balanced side but will nonetheless miss the services of their ace striker even though they can still fall back on Amri Yahyah, Hardi Jaafar, Amirulhadi Zainal and Rudie Ramli. They also have new signings Mohd Fadzli Saari, Azidan Sarudin and S. Sritharan.
"We have able replacements in our squad. Amri, or even Fadzli Saari can fill in for Safee. I have been preparing for this ever since I found out about his intention to leave the club," said Devan.
On whether Safee's absence will affect Selangor's chances of winning titles this season, Devan: "It will not be the same without Safee but we still have the best strike force in the Super League."
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