July 5, 2004

The chase for Indian striker cum captain Baichung Bhutia is gathering pace, after it emerged both Tanjong Pagar United & Home United are suitors for the Indian star’s signature.

The Jaguars are looking for a new foreign striker after their moves for Thai striker Pitipong Kuldilong broke down.

However it is believed the main sticking point is Bhutia salary demand with him demanding $7000 while the Jaguars have only offered $4500.

Jaguars chairman Mathew Kang admitted the interests for the Indian striker but felt as the club is no longer in the chase for the S-league title , the club could not afford to splurge that much on a single player.

At the other end, Home United have offered Bhutia a contract for next season S-league campaign.

Not willing to confirm anything, Home United coach Steve Darby felt there are many other factors that could affect the deal like the quota of foreign players & S-league financial directives.

There are rumors the S-league is considering reducing the current quota of foreign players from 4 to 3. The reasons being it will be in line with AFC club competition so S-league clubs will not be at a disadvantage & the money to hire them will not be as spread out so better quality players can be recruited by clubs.

Nevertheless Steve Darby felt it is in the right direction for S-league clubs to go for Asian stars as the future of the S-league can be better served by being a hub for top Asian players especially South-East Asian players. It is more so as based on economies S-league clubs cannot afford a top European players but for a top Asian players, it is not impossible