NEROCA FC sign wing-back Varghese Jayan on one-year deal

The 22-year-old previously spent two years in Singapore with top tier side Geylang International FC.

I-League outfit NEROCA FC have confirmed the signing of Varghese Jayan ahead of the upcoming season. The young wing-back has been handed a one-year contract at the Imphal-based club.

Jayan has put pen to paper on a contract that will see him remain with the club till the end of the upcoming 2020-21 season. He began his footballing career at FC Kochin's academy, before leaving for Singapore in 2017. The same year, he trained with Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Geylang International FC's reserve team, before Singapore National Football League (NFL) club Eunos Crescent FC signed him.

He also went on to have training stints at Geylang International and another SPL club Balestier Khalsa FC, while also playing with NFL sides Katong FC and Balestier United -- the feeder club of Balestier Khalsa. In the 2019-20 season, Varghese shifted to Jungfrau Punggol FC and went on to win three Man of the Match awards during the course of the NFL campaign.

The player was actively seeking options ahead of a return to India, when NEROCA FC snapped him up on a one-year deal. The club, meanwhile, are keen to improve on their lowly ninth-placed finish (just five wins from 17 matches) in the 2019-20 I-League season and have already brought a few new players into the squad.

On Tuesday, they confirmed the signing of former CD Leganes U-23 player Aryan Gupta, while the likes of Saikhom Thomas, Santa Yumlembam and Rahul Yadav were announced as new acquisitions earlier last month. They also retained Bishorjit Loitongbam for another year, with more signings and contract extensions expected to follow in the days to come.