KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — National football Under-18 (U-18) and Selangor 2 forward Luqman Hakim Shamsudin is currently considering two options before completing his transfer to Beligum professional club KV Kortrijk.

According to a close source, the top scorer of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Championship 2018 has two options to either sign a contract and join the team in the near future or sign a contract but depart for Belgium during the second transfer window.

“Luqman has some considerations, whether he wants to leave after the AFC U-19 Championship or before. If he leaves after the championship, Luqman will have the opportunity to play for Selangor in the remaining Malaysian League (M-League) and the national team.

“However, if Luqman intends to leave Belgium earlier, it will not be a problem for him to return to Malaysia for the AFC U-19 Championship as the club (KV Kortrijk) is owned by a Malaysian. Of course, they will understand,” he told Bernama, today.

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KV Kortrijk is preparing for the new Jupiler Pro League season scheduled to start in early August while the AFC 2020 U-19 Championship, will be the main priority for the national team to hunt for an automatic slot for the 2021 U-20 World Cup which will take place from Oct 14 to Oct 31.

The country’s leading businessman, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, who also owns KV Kortrijk revealed Luqman Hakim has joined the club, according to local media reports.

However, the Selangor Football Association (FAS) has confirmed that the agreement has only been done in principle without any official transfer documents signed between the two clubs.

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Meanwhile, the source said the former Mokhtar Dahari Football Academy trainee had on several occasions made the decision to move to KV Kortrijk and join the team’s training session as soon as possible.

“It’s not easy to adapt to a foreign country especially Europe, so Luqman needs time to adjust to being there alone as a professional footballer.

“The option of leaving there early is one of the things that Luqman is considering. His dream is to play in the European major league and hopes to get there as soon as possible,” he said. — Bernama