KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 -- Super League teams Johor Darul Ta’zim and Selangor have managed to sign 12 out of over 40 second-generation Mohktar Dahari Academy (AMD) graduates.
According to a trusted source, contracts of between two and three years were offered to all 12 of the 17-year-old trainees who frequently featured in the academy’s main squad.
One of the squad’s best midfielders Ziad El Basheer signed with JDT while defender Muhammad Faiz Amer Runnizar chose the Red Giants squad.
Striker Muhammad Najmudin Akmal Kamal Akmal, who formed a strike partnership with national star Luqman Hakim Shamsuddin during the 2018 Under-16 (U-16) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship, will follow Ziad El Basheer to JDT.
“Ziad and Faiz can be considered as the best talents among these players...Najmudin was forced to take a long time out due to a knee injury last year, otherwise, his name would be on top. So he needs some time to return to top form,” the source told Bernama today.
Midfielders Muhammad Najmudin and another second-generation AMD graduate, Muhammad Syukur Fariz Januri, were part of the U-16 team that defeated Tajikistan 6-2 in the group stage of the U-16 AFC Championship.
At the same time, almost all 12 of the second-generation AMD graduates based in Gambang, Kuantan were from the Under-17 national squad coached by Raja Azlan Shah Raja So'ib that participated in the 2020 Jenesys Cup in Kagoshima, Japan, in March.
The signings prove that graduates from AMD, under the National Football Development Programme, were still sought after.
JDT and Selangor also signed the entire batch of 34 first-generation graduates last year, with 28 of them joining Selangor.
This also raises the question of who among the 12 graduates this year would be able to follow in the footsteps of Luqman Hakim, who has signed a five-year contract with professional Belgium club, KV Kortrijk.
However, the focus is now on the remaining second-generation AMD graduates, all of whom have great potential and could possibly compete in the Malaysian League.
The following is the list 12 AMD graduates who signed contracts with either JDT or Selangor:
| Name | Position | State | Team |
| Muhammad Haziq Ridhwan Mohd Rosli | Defender | Kuala Lumpur | JDT |
| Muhammad Naqiu Aiman Abdul Hadi | Defender | Terengganu | JDT |
| Muhammad Najmudin Akmal Kamal Akmal | Striker | Selangor | JDT |
| Ziad El Basheer Norhisham | Midfielder | Selangor | JDT |
| Mohammad Marwan Abdul Rahman | Defender | Selangor | JDT |
| Muhammad Syukur Fariz Januri | Midfielder | Melaka | JDT |
| Muhammad Faiz Amer Runnizar | Defender | Kuala Lumpur | Selangor |
| Syahmi Adib Haikal Mohd Shukri | Goalkeeper | Johor | Selangor |
| Abdul Afiq Hilman Abdul Halim | Winger | Kuala Lumpur | Selangor |
| Muhammad Haiqal Haqeemi Hairi | Defender | Selangor | Selangor |
| Muhammad Khairi Suffian Khaineyusri | Striker | Kelantan | Selangor |
| Syed Zaris Irfan Syed Putra Hasdiana Faizal | Defender | Pahang | Selangor |
-- BERNAMA
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