He flew to France on June 27, and will have a medical check on June 29. If he passes it, his contract with the club will take effect and Hai will become the first Vietnamese player to play for a professional league in France.

Established in 1920, Pau FC finished 10th in Ligue 2 in the last season. It owns the 4,031-seater Nouste Campo stadium.

Bernard Laporte-Fray, president of the club, chose Hai because of his creative and clever style, the newspaper said. He decided to sign a two-year contract with the Vietnamese midfielder with an option of extending for another year. Pau FC is also willing to facilitate Hai to join bigger clubs if he plays well and receives offers from them.

Hai started his career 16 years ago and has spent his entire career at Hanoi FC, from the youth to the senior team.

He has played 126 matches and scored 35 goals for the club which negotiated with the midfielder for a contract extension but he remained steadfast in moving abroad.

At the age of 25, he won three top-tier V-League 1 championships in 2016, 2018, and 2019, two National Cup trophies in 2019 and 2020, and three titles of the Vietnam Super Cup in 2019, 2020 and 2021 with Hanoi FC.

Hai rose to prominence with a series of stellar performances that helped Vietnam reach the final of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.  He won the Vietnam Golden Ball in 2018 and was honoured as the Best Player in Southeast Asia in 2019./.

Source: VNA