KOTA BHARU: Philippines national striker, Jose Elmer Porteria is expected to strengthen the Kelantan United FC (KUFC) squad in the Malaysia League 2023 after signing a oneseason contract with the team.

KUFC chief operations officer Wan Mohd Zul Ikman said the inclusion of the 28-year-old completed the quota for ASEAN players which is a requirement by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Malaysian Football League (MFL).

“Porteria is the fourth imported player for the Kijang Hijau squad this season. The others are Ernist Batyrknov (Kyrgyzstan), Yan Victor (Brazil) and Morgaro Gomis (Senegal),” he said in a statement yesterday.

Wan Mohd Zul said the player began his career at DC United from the United States and is capable of playing in the left and right-wing positions.

He also said the selection of Porteria was based on the player’s record performance playing more than 90 matches in the Philippines and Thai League, the AFC Cup and the Asian Champions League.

“He scored more than 40 goals and provided 22 assists and is still the choice of the Philippines national squad since 2012.

“His experience and capabilities are not disputed but there is still the issue of getting the right chemistry among his teammates,” he added.