Football
ESPN staff 6y

Evan Dimas one of two Indonesian stars to sign with Selangor for 2018

Indonesia internationals Evan Dimas and Ilham Armaiyn have joined Malaysia Super League (MSL) club Selangor from Liga 1 champions Bhayangkara.

The Red Giants will be determined to improve upon this year's sixth-placed finish in the MSL, and the capture of two bright young talents is a measure of this ambition.

Dimas and Armaiyn should arrive in Malaysia in a very positive frame of mind, having just lifted the Indonesian title under Scottish-born manager Simon McMenemy.

It is seven years since Selangor were champions of Malaysia, and they will hope that bringing in two players who have recently experienced success at their club will also bring a winning mentality.

The new boys follow in the footsteps of fellow Indonesian Andik Vermansyah, who has recently left Selangor after four years in Malaysia including an injury-plagued 2017. After earning a contract extension following a successful first two years at the club, he helped them to win the 2015 Malaysia Cup.

Dimas and Armaiyn will certainly be delighted if they can emulate Vermansyah's success, and all eyes will be on the Indonesians next year as Selangor look to improve significantly upon a disappointing 2017 when they had their lowest league finish in 10 years.

Midfielder Dimas was part of the Indonesia Under-23 side who lost to Malaysia in this year's Southeast (SEA) Games semifinal while he was in the senior squad that was beaten by Thailand in the final of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Dimas also came off the bench at half-time during the Young Garuda's 3-0 defeat to Malaysia in the AFC U23 Championship qualifier in July before playing the full 90 minutes in the improved performances against Mongolia and Thailand, which ended in a 7-0 victory and a 0-0 draw respectively.

At just 21, winger Arrmaiyn is one year younger than his compatriot and has a single full cap for his country to date.

One of the signings will take up the newly introduced slot in the squad for an ASEAN player.

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