Persija Jakarta are set to hand Witan Sulaeman his debut in Friday’s Liga 1 Indonesia match against RANS Nusantara FC at the Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi.
One of the best Indonesian players of the current generation, Witan made the shocking decision to leave Slovak giants AS Trencin to join Persija on a 3,5 year contract at the end of January. Family reasons was the main factor behind Witan’s departure from Trencin, despite the winger seeing decent playing time at the 2-time Slovak champions.
Despite worries that Witan might’ve chosen to “downgrade” his career path by going to the Liga 1, the fact that Persija were being coached by former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Doll quelled those worries, as the young winger is still in very good hands despite leaving Europe.
Donning the number 7 jersey, Witan is set to make his debut in Friday’s league match against a RANS Nusantara side who had just parted ways with head coach Rahmad Darmawan, with former Atletico Mineiro head coach Rodrigo Santana succeeding him.
“I’m very pleased and happy to have joined Persija. All of this may seem sudden and last minute, but I would like to thank everyone who made this happen,” said Witan, as quoted from Suara.com.
“I want to focus myself with my new team and hope that I could help Persija to glory not only in Indonesia but also in Asia,” Witan continued.
Witan is Persija’s fifth signing of the recently-concluded mid-season transfer window, following the likes of Aji Kusuma, Dandi Maulana, Birrul Walidain, and Rachma Nico. The Macan Kemayoran‘s notable mid-season departures include Ryuji Utomo, Otavio Dutra, and Braif Fatari, who joined Bali United, Madura United, and Persik Kediri respectively.