Dedebit FC have unveiled a 27 man roster for the upcoming Premier League season Today in a press conference at Ethiopia Hotel this Morning. The list includes 11 new players along with 16 familiar names and will be supplemented with youth team players who will be promoted to the main squad.
The club resigned former captain Aynalem Haile from Dashen while a record 8 players joined the team from the National League. 3 players, Wegderes Taye, Teslon Simon, and Henok Mekonen, were signed from Share Ethiopia, while Yohannes Tsegaye and Yared Birhanu joins the team from Mekele Kenema. Solomon Biruk from Wollo Kombolcha, Mikias from EIC, and Mebrahtu Haileselassie from Coach Getachew’s former team Welwalo are the other signings.
The club’s technical director Michael Amdemeskel explained why they were forced to target young players from the 2nd division.
“We were forced to focus on National League players due to two main reasons. The first reason is that we already have 16 experienced players under contract with our club. We have also resigned Aynalem Haile. We believe we have enough senior players in our team. The other reason is the inflation of player salary and signing fees in the top flight. The difference in quality between senior premier league players and unknown 2nd division players is not that wide. We have signed young, exciting players with a bright future ahead of them. We believe our new signings will benefit the club for a long time to come.”
The club also shed light on the ongoing transfer saga involving their star midfielder and Ethiopia international Tadele Mengesha.
“We have offered to renew Tadele Mengesha’s contract for an additional 2 years, the terms of our proposal would’ve made him the highest paid player in the club. But he has declined our offer and decided to leave in search of greener pastures in Europe. We’ve been forced to look for other options. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” Michael said.
Dedebit will begin their preseason camp in Debrezeit in the coming week with 22 players and the squad will be complete when the players selected for the National Team return after the 2017 AFCON qualifier game against Seychelles.
