Young players from the Song Lam academy are heading north.

(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, the Nghe An team decided to let its young players join Phu Dong FC and Viettel to compete in the 2017 National Second Division League.

According to leaked information, after receiving a loan request from Phu Dong FC, SLNA has allowed U21 players including Phi Ha, Dinh Chau, Van Duc, and Thai Ton to join the team at Ha Dong Stadium to participate in the National Second Division League starting on May 5th.

Among these talents, two players stand out: striker Phi Ha, Phi Son's younger brother, and midfielder Bui Dinh Chau, who won the 'Best Player of the Tournament' award at the 2012 National U17 Championship.

Bui Dinh Chau will play for Phu Dong FC in the 2017 National Second Division League. Photo: Trung Kien

Phu Dong FC, established just two years ago, is coached by Le Duc Tuan (the son of former coach Le Dinh Chinh) and has a model similar to a Japanese club. It was highly regarded in the 2017 National Second Division League, boasting high ambitions and a fairly good squad.

Ahead of the new season, the management of Phu Dong FC has publicly stated its goal of competing in the First Division next year. Among the players of Phu Dong FC, there are several notable names such as center-back Nhu Thanh (former national team player) and Cong Manh (former SLNA player).

Playing for a professional and modern team like Phu Dong FC will help Phi Ha, Dinh Chau, Van Duc, and Thai Ton learn and gain experience through matches in the National Second Division. This period of competitive experience is seen as an opportunity for these young players from Nghe An to mature and impress the SLNA management.

Before heading to Hanoi, Bui Dinh Chau shared: “I feel very happy to be loaned to Phu Dong FC. I will definitely fight my hardest for the team and I also hope to be promoted to the SLNA first team.”

Goalkeeper Duong Van Cuong is seeking an opportunity at Viettel FC. Photo: Trung Kien

Joining the team on loan to the North is the promising goalkeeper Duong Van Cuong. Unlike his senior teammates Phi Ha, Dinh Chau, Van Duc, and Thai Ton, goalkeeper Duong Van Cuong will be guarding the goal for second-division team Viettel.

At the national U19 championship, the goalkeeper born in 1999 of SLNA U19 was voted 'Best Player of the Tournament' by experts. At the same time, Duong Van Cuong was called up by the organizers of the national U19 championship to the Vietnam Youth Newspaper's selected U19 team to participate in the Thanh Nien Newspaper International U19 Tournament, held at Nha Trang Stadium.

Thanks to Duong Van Cuong's outstanding performance for the SLNA U19 team recently, the coaching staff of Viettel (a second-division team) tried to persuade the Nghe An team to loan the 18-year-old goalkeeper to play in the 2017 National Second Division League.

The SLNA management's decision is considered reasonable, because training and playing for a highly disciplined team like Viettel will help Duong Van Cuong mature both professionally and in his conduct on the field and in his personal life. If he seizes the opportunity, the goalkeeper from Yen Thanh (Nghe An) has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors like Duong Hong Son and Nguyen Manh in the near future.

The U17 SLNA team that won the 2012 National U17 Championship mostly consists of players currently playing in the capital city for various clubs. Photo: Trung Kien

Thus, following the "journey to the North" of Hong Dinh, Duc Thong, Ba Duc, Van Hiep, Huu Tuan, Van Ngoc... who joined the People's Police team at the end of 2016, the "storm" of young SLNA players descending on the capital has increased significantly.

Roughly speaking, there are about 11-12 players from SLNA's youth teams competing in the upcoming National Second Division league. It seems that these young players from Nghe An are viewing the teams from the North as a "promised land" for developing their talents.

Thanh Hung