JAKARTA - Persib Bandung announced the recruitment of Ezra Walian to the public on last Sunday, right on the 88th anniversary of the club nicknamed Maung Bandung.

The 23-year-old striker was brought in from PSM Makassar as a free transfer player. The player who was born on October 22, 1997 is also a regular player for the Indonesian national team.

Ezra is a young striker but full of experience. He is a graduate of the Ajax academy and has worked in the Netherlands with Almere City and RKC Waalwijk.

He also strengthened the Indonesian national team at the 2017 SEA Games and successfully presented a bronze medal. At Persib, Ezra will temporarily fill Geoffrey Castillion's position on loan at the Italian club.

Castillion is scheduled to return to Persib in July at the earliest. While waiting for Castillion's return, coach Robert Alberts will try to maximize Ezra's role.

In addition to looking for the best combination when Ezra plays with Castillion, Robert will also look for the right scheme to maximize Ezra with young players, one of which is Beckham Putra.

"(Apart from being with Castillon) he is also (looking for) the (best) combination of himself with young players who will be ready for the next few years like Beckham and Saiful," said the 66-year-old coach as quoted from Persib's official website, Monday.

Robert said that Ezra's young age was one of the considerations to bring him in. Because at that age, he can also prepare the Blue Prince team to face competitions in the next few years.

"Ezra is in accordance with our plans for the future which have been quite successful so far. We can see that more and more young players are joining this team. We are also building this team to play in the AFC Cup. So it takes a struggle to become champions every year," he concluded.


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