East Bengal set to release Katsumi Yusa ahead of next season

The Japanese midfielder was one of the best performers for the Red and Gold in the last campaign.

Kolkata giants East Bengal are set to release Katsumi Yusa and also take stern decisions regarding their current team for the upcoming I-League season, recent reports suggest.

The Red and Gold were taken over by service management firm, Quess Corp a few weeks ago. The Bengaluru-based company have taken over 70% of the club's shares and are eager to build a strong team for the upcoming season.

So, they have constituted a committee to discuss the issues surrounding team-building, where football secretary Rajat Guha and former player Alvito D'Cunha have been joined by two members representing the title sponsor.

The committee is scrutinizing the condition of the team and speculation suggest that the Japanese midfielder is set to be axed from the current squad. Yusa had a good outing with the Kolkata outfit last season, where the team finished in fourth place.

After having a decent outing last year he had a deal with the club and they decided that the Japanese midfielder will not be included in their Calcutta Football League (CFL) campaign and will join them again before the I-League. However, after Quess Corp's takeover at the club, it seems like the Japanese's stint will be cut short.

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The Kolkata giants have already signed Costa Rican defender Johnny Acosta who also featured in the recently-concluded World Cup in Russia. The move fuelled speculation of the club joining the ISL and it was evident that Quess will keep no stone unturned to return the club back to their golden days.

Reportedly, East Bengal officials have told Katsumi and his agent that they will clear all the compensation regarding the deal and will also help him find a team in India. If this is to happen, it indicates that East Bengal might move forward with a massive overhaul of their squad and the remaining players should pull up their socks, or else they could be next to follow.

The committee is also discussing the acquisition of some foreign players, mostly midfielders and attackers, but have not agreed upon anything concrete so far. The Kolkata outfit have already signed several players from Minerva Punjab's title-winning squad of last season and could rope in yet more members, to finally end their title drought in the forthcoming campaign.