KUALA LUMPUR: France-based Malaysian Titus James has been called up to attend centralised training with the Malaysian Selection team in a friendly match against English Premier League (EPL) club, Chelsea at the Shah Alam Stadium on July 29.

National coach B Sathianathan said he spoke to Titus’ father, James Palani to include the 22-year-old in the team and was told that the winger of the French Third Division club Villenoy FC would only be home next week.

“I have called him (through his father) several times to join the national team, even before our friendly with the Chinese Olympic Team last Sunday and against the Indian national team next Tuesday, but was told that Titus had a tight schedule and was looking for a chance to play with another club in France,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Once home, Sathianathan said, Titus would join another 22 Malaysian players in the selection team before battling against The Blues at Shah Alam.

He said the national call for Titus was just for the match against Chelsea as he (Titus) was still committed to play in the French league.

“There is no special test session for him once he joins the team. I’ll test his physical endurance and ability, together with the rest of the team,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chelsea is gearing up for the Asian-Tour which will begin next Monday, with a friendly against China.

Proevents International Sdn Bhd (Proevents) chief executive officer Julian Kam said The Blues team would leave for China today to play with the Chinese national team on July 23 before moving on to Macau for another match, three days later.

“The team arrives on July 27 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and will train at the Shah Alam Stadium. Malaysia is the final leg of the tour and will meet the Malaysian Selection on July 29, before leaving for Moscow.

“We are fortunate that Asian fans will get the first opportunity to see Chelsea in action with their new signings, before the rest of the world.

“Not only are the full first team coming but also The Blues fans from different parts of the world such as England, Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand,” he said.

Kam said the match would be broadcast live to more than 40 countries.

Proevents are the promoter of the events.

— Bernama