Striker Oussou Konan Anicet (left) is playing his best football at Nam Định. Photo zingnews.vn

HÀ NỘI - While he's shining now at Nam Định, Oussou Konan Anicet was previously turned down by two other V.League 1 clubs, the striker has revealed.

Before the 2021 season started, expectations weren't high for coach Nguyễn Văn Sỹ’s Nam Định as they barely stayed in the division last season.

To make matters worse, after escaping relegation, Nam Định lost both Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes and Đỗ Merlo who were their two top goal scorers.

However, with the season 12 matches old, Nam Định are flying high in fourth place and have scored the joint-most goals in the league so far.

Key to that fabulous scoring record is 32-year-old Ivorian forward Konan, who has notched seven goals this season.

But before his success at Nam Định, Konan was turned down after trials at both Becamex Bình Dương and HCM City FC.

"I've failed to get into two Vietnamese teams. They are HCM City and Bình Dương. After that, my agent said that I would have one last chance at Nam Định, but the chance to be accepted was very low,” Konan told zingnews.vn.

“I had to play in a 30-minute trial match. I will never forget that feeling when I had my trial at the club as I received the contract after only 30 minutes of playing.

“The coaching staff couldn’t speak English, so they signalled to me that I had succeeded and that I would be signed immediately," Konan added.

Konan is in excellent form and the two teams that rejected him could certainly do with his services, especially as their foreign players have struggled this season. VNS