KARACHI, Dec 2: Pakistan’s international defender Zesh Rehman is set to join Malaysian side Pahang in the latest stop on his Asian adventure.

The centre-back, who also played for English Premier League side Fulham, is expected to put pen to paper with the Malaysian Cup winners in the coming days after playing his final game with Hong Kong side Kitchee against Tuen Mun on Saturday.

During his time with Kitchee, Zesh won the Hong Kong First Division title in 2011-12 along with two Hong Kong FA Cups.

“I’ve to say a special thank you to all of the Kitchee family, fans and media for leaving me and my family with very special memories of my time in East Asia. Everyone made me feel welcome from the very first moment and I loved every moment here,” he said in a statement on the Kitchee website.

For Zesh, who recently captained Pakistan in the Philippines Peace Cup, it will be his third Asian club after Kitchee and Thailand’s Muangthong United.

“I think the next two biggest regions that people should be keeping an eye on are south-east Asia — Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, who are producing some very good players who are so passionate for the game — and then south Asia in terms of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan as they are still a little way behind,” Zesh told FIFA.com in a recent interview.

In an earlier interview with Dawn, Zesh had expressed his desire to play in other Asian leagues. “I want to play in different leagues around the continent and win as many trophies as I can,” he had said then.

At Pahang, Zesh will be coached by Ron Smith, former technical analyst for the Australian national team.

Malaysian clubs have been investing heavily on foreign players in the recent past with Argentina playmaker Pablo Aimar joining Johor Darul Takzim in September. The same club also had Spain’s Euro 2008 star Dani Guiza on their books earlier in the season.

Malaysian football has tried to attract big names to boost a sport beset by match-fixing scandals. Last year the Football Association of Malaysia suspended 18 youth players and banned a coach for life for match-fixing.