5 Worst Signings in Indian football this season

Khel Now takes a look at the biggest flop acquisitions in the top flight this season...

The I-League had a very enjoyable season this time around, with the unpredictability of Aizawl FC pulling off the ultimate underdog story only making it more entertaining throughout its course. Aizawl had obviously made some really good signings (the best being new coach Khalid Jamil) which is why they continued being at the top of the standings and lifted the trophy at the end of the season.

But not every club did the best of business before this season and numerous teams signed players who didn't turn out to be as good as expected. These players were signed by the clubs with much expectations on their shoulders, but they turned out to be complete busts and let their teams down at the end of the season. They only seemingly made it more difficult for their club and turned out to be terrible signings. So let's have a look at the worst signings of the 2016/17 season of the I-League.

5. Subashish Bose

Subashish Bose is touted as one of the brightest young talents in Indian football right now, with the 21-year-old left-back having a breakthrough season with Sporting Clube de Goa in 2016. The impressive season enthralled many, including Sanjoy Sen who signed him to be part of Mohun Bagan in this I-League season. But Bose didn't turn out as they'd expected him to, failing to make an impact for the Mariners.

Bose turned out to be a huge disappointment for Mohun Bagan fans

He had a horrible debut for the club, getting sent off in the first I-League match itself. He received another sending-off against Bengaluru FC later in the season and was very poor and mistake-prone throughout the campaign. Bose turned out to be one of the weakest links in Bagan's squad and had a season to forget as The Mariners were left regretting their hurried decision on signing him.

4. Bektur Talgat Uulu

Bektur Talgat Uulu was signed with much premise, as Churchill Brothers had a lot of expectation from the man they had to fight their way into signing. Churchill bought Bektur once the season started and had some problems with the authorities to confirm the signing, having to fight tooth and nail to get their man. But Uulu turned out to be anything but special once he got on the pitch for Churchill.

He only had one memorable game when he scored 4 goals against Chennai City and was almost irrelevant besides that game. He added nothing to Churchill's attack and was shaky defensively as well, with the Goan side not getting their problems solved by him. Uulu failed to repay the faith the Red Machines had put in him, turning out to be a very bad signing and bringing nothing special to the team.

3. Kim Song-Yong

DSK Shivajians splurged a lot of cash last year to bring in some valuable talent in an attempt to boost their squad, as they even bought promising striker Kim Song-Yong from Bengaluru FC. Kim was pretty solid for Bengaluru in his first season, helping the club win the I-League title as well. Many anticipated what this star signing could do to elevate DSK from the lower reaches of the league, but Song-Yong couldn't really do anything at all.

Kim failed to live upto expectations at DSK

He only scored 4 goals in the 13 I-League matches he played for the club, failing to rise up to the occasion when it really mattered. Kim wouldn't help them on the attacking front and missed many chances throughout the season as DSK yet again ended up having a disappointing campaign. Spending all that cash on the North Korean striker seems very idiotic right now, as Yong failed to make an impact when it really mattered for DSK.

2. Lalchhawnkima

Lalchhawnkima was signed by Mumbai FC hoping to add some quality to their defense, but little did they know how badly this signing would flop for them. After having a terrible season with Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League, Lalchhawnkima hoped to redeem himself in the I-League and prove his point at Mumbai FC. He initially started well, but things went horribly wrong for him and Mumbai.

He failed to appear for them due to injuries or some niggling problems and whatever games he did manage to play, he would completely flop in them. Lalchhawnkima was extremely clumsy and error-prone in defense and couldn't help the Yellow Brigade at all, often being the cause for all their troubles in the games he played. Mumbai paid the price by getting relegated at the end of the season and Lalchhawnkima's sorrow continued.

1. Marcos Tank

More popularly known as "Tank", Marcos Tank was a big signing for Chennai City FC who hoped the powerful Brazilian striker would lead them to much glory in the I-League this season. But Marcos tanked when it came to real competition, failing to use his strength to his advantage and he couldn't get the ball into the net when Chennai really needed him to do so.

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Tank failed to be a "Tank" for Chennai City

Thank played 11 games for Chennai, only scoring 2 goals in those games and being an absolute waste most of the time. He couldn't add anything to their attack and floundered whatever chances they worked hard to create, also displaying real lazy football which didn't help the team at all. Chennai were woeful in attack and Tank's awful performances didn't help one bit, as this promising Brazilian turned out to be an absolute bust and a terrible signing for the southern club.