VietNamNet Bridge – SHB Da Nang team has completed procedures to secure Vietnamese citizenship for Argentina-born striker Gaston Merlo ahead of the next V.League season.

Hot shot: Gaston Merlo (left) celebrates after scoring a goal in a V.League 1 match. — VNS Photo Le Lam

The team confirmed to Viet Nam News that SHB would strengthen their squad with more foreign players in an effort to win the V-League 1 next year.

The central city-based team finished third in 2016 after winning the title in 1992, 2009 and 2012.

Merlo was top scorer in the V.League 1 last season with 24 goals, the fourth time he finished as the league’s top marksman.

Director of SHB Da Nang Sport Stock Company, Bui Xuan Hoa said Merlo wishes to stay in Da Nang as his family is used to the city after having lived there for several years.

He said the team revved up the procedure for him playing in the new football season that begins in early 2017.

The Viet Nam Football Federation allows each team to play with two foreigners in a match, once Merlo becomes a Vietnamese citizen he will no longer count as a foreign player.

The Argentinean striker has scored 92 goals between 2008 and 2016 for SHB.

Merlo had a knee operation while playing for Da Nang in 2014, before returning to Argentina to recover in 2015.

Last week, the team resigned Brazilian forward Teofilo Soares Eydison, who played his first season for the team in 2016.

SHB Da Nang has been seeking more foreign players for their squad in 2017 when the team moves to the new 20,000-seat Hoa Xuan Stadium.

VNS