Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) III teenage sensation Sean Gan Giannelli has set his sights on securing a spot in Benjamin Mora’s JDT II team when the new season kicks off in 2017.
The Malaysian-Italian striker spent a couple of years playing in the Italian Serie D with Atletico Arezza before breaking into the local scene with the Armed Forces’ (ATM) Under-19 squad in the 2014 Youth League (Piala Belia). The Southern Tigers then came prowling and signed him at the end of 2014. He featured in the 2015 President Cup (Piala Presiden) and was undoubtedly one of the most talented players under the guidance of Ervin Boban.
The former Royal Selangor Club and KLYS graduate has been in fine form ever since joining the boys in blue and wants to play in the Malaysia Premier League (MPL) next season.
“I believe I can make the jump from JDT III to JDT II,” Sean told FourthOfficial.com.
“I have trained with JDT II a few times and I see myself playing there in the near future. I was also given the opportunity to play two friendlies with the first team during pre-season. I scored the winning goal against PKNS after coming on as a substitute for Jorge Pereyra Diaz.
There were rumours of Sean Giannelli joining JDT II this season but head coach Ervin Boban decided to keep him for one more season to stand a chance of winning the President Cup.
“There were rumours and I believed most of them were true. However, I guess it was just not time yet. I’m not upset at all because I want to win the President Cup with JDT III.
The 20 year-old is grateful that he is under The Southern Tigers’ system and would love to play alongside the big names in the first and second team in the not too distant future.
“I am lucky to be able to learn and grow here. It would be a dream come true play alongside the likes of Paulo Rangel, Shahril Ishak and Shafiq Shaharuddin. I have also imagined myself playing with Hariss Harun, Safiq Rahim and Pereyra Diaz too,” Sean Giannelli concluded.
JDT III are currently third in Group A of the President Cup with 14 points (four wins, two draws, two losses). They are six points behind Kelantan and two points behind Terengganu.
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