Thaksin secures Manchester City trials for Thai trio

BANGKOK, July 25 (Reuters) Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who took full control of Manchester City on Monday, has arranged trials for three Thai national team players at the English Premier League club.

Defenders Suree Sukha and Kiatprawut Saiwaeo and striker Teerasil Dangda will train with the team in Manchester next week, Thai soccer officials said today.

Teerasil, 19, and Kiatprawut, 21, made their senior national team debuts at the Asian Cup earlier this month, where co-hosts Thailand failed to advance from the group stage.

Attacking fullback Suree, 24, has been a regular for the national team since 2005.

The Shinawatra family on Monday secured 75 per cent of City's shares to take total control of the struggling side, whose last major success was 31 years ago when they won the League Cup.

Thaksin, who has been living in exile since he was ousted in a bloodless coup last year, has said his 81 million pounds (163.8 million dollar) takeover will help improve Thai soccer.

Analysts have dismissed the takeover as a publicity stunt aimed at boosting his image among the soccer-obsessed Thai masses, whose votes gave Thaksin unprecedented landslide election victories in 2001 and 2005.

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