ATK Mohun Bagan sign Glan Martins on a 3.5 years deal

The midfielder previously played for the Mariners in the 2020-21 season.

ATK Mohun Bagan have announced the acquisition of Glan Martins from FC Goa on a three-and-a-half year deal. In doing so, they have released Lenny Rodrigues from the squad – with the experienced midfielder expected to join FC Goa, as per reports.

Martins will be returning to the Mariners after leaving them in 2021 to join Goa. After an underwhelming campaign with ATK Mohun Bagan in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season, the Kolkata giants signed Lenny Rodrigues to release him at that time. It was a swap deal with Glan Martins, who went back to Goa.

This time, they’ve basically done the opposite to bring the 28-year-old back to the club. Martins will bring more steel and bite to their midfield, which has lacked options this season.

Deepak Tangri is injured and Martins becomes the second midfielder, after Puitea, to join the Mariners in January. The 28-year-old will also be available to play for Juan Ferrando’s side in their next game against Odisha FC on Saturday.

About the Player

Glan Martins has had swift progression over the Indian league system in his career. After starting out in the I-League with Sporting Clube de Goa and Churchill Brothers, he got his break when ATK Mohun Bagan signed him in 2020.

However, he had an underwhelming debut season for the Mariners and was released at the midway point. Martins took this as a challenge and soared in his first few years after joining FC Goa in January 2021. He played a key role for them in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season, even featuring in their AFC Champions League campaign in 2021.

During that period, Martins also became a regular for the Indian national team. He was in the squad that won the 2021 SAFF Championship and has made 13 appearances for the Blue Tigers till now.

But after starting just four games for FC Goa this season, Martins is now venturing on a new chapter in his career. Ferrando brought out his best during their days at FC Goa, something he’ll hope to repeat with the Kolkata giants too!

ATK Mohun Bagan’s performance in the ISL 2022-23

ATK Mohun Bagan have had a season troubled with injury issues, affecting their league championship challenge too. They have lost a number of key players this season, with the likes of Florentin Pogba, Joni Kauko and Deepak Tangri all out for the rest of the season.

Moreover, they have constantly struggled with injury issues to key players all throughout the campaign. Ferrando had previously stated that he was forced to use coaching staff members to fill in as players just to complete training sessions.

Their lack of options in the midfield has forced Ferrando to sign multiple midfielders, including that of Glan Martins. ATK Mohun Bagan are currently sitting fourth in the ISL table, 15 points behind league-leaders Mumbai City FC, with a game in hand.

They have five points more than seventh place Bengaluru FC and are in a comfortable position to qualify for the ISL playoffs. The Mariners have six more league games remaining and look determined to build a strong squad to challenge for the ISL Trophy.

Apart from Martins, the Kolkata side have signed Puitea, Slavko Damjanovic and Federico Gallego in the winter transfer window so far, apart from numerous youngsters.