Sreenidhi Deccan FC rope in ex-Gokulam Kerala star Rahul KP

The 22-year-old was part of the Malabarians' squad which won the Kerala Premier League in the 2020-21 season.

I-League new entrants Sreenidhi Deccan FC have completed the signing of Rahul KP, Khel Now can confirm. The Kerala-based youngster previously played for the league's defending champions Gokulam Kerala.

"Sreenidhi Deccan have signed Rahul KP. The player recently signed on a one-year contract with an option to extend for another season," sources close to the development informed Khel Now. A winger by trade, Rahul is the seventh attacking player to be signed by the Visakhapatnam-based club ahead of the new season.

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The 22-year-old began his professional footballing career at Gokulam Kerala itself. He rose through the ranks from their academy setup before playing for their reserves and eventually the first team. He made his I-League debut with the Malabarians in the 2019-20 season, in a 2-1 defeat to Mohun Bagan. The forward went on to make one more appearance in that campaign, in a 1-1 draw against East Bengal where he assisted Marcus Joseph's goal.

Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Rahul KP signed a multi-year deal with the Malabarians. However, he later failed to make the cut to their I-League squad. Earlier in 2021, the youngster featured for the Gokulam Kerala Reserves in Kerala Premier League 2020-21 and won the trophy before deciding to part ways with the club.

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Sreenidhi Deccan's pre-season preparations

The Visakhapatnam-based outfit are a new club and have built an entire squad from scratch in the last few months. Some of their notable signings are goalkeeper Ubaid CK, defenders Mohamed Awal, Dinesh Singh, Arijit Bagui, midfielders Phalguni Singh, Girik Khosla and forwards Suraj Rawat and David Castaneda.

Former Gokulam Kerala and Churchill Brothers head coach Fernando Santiago Varela has also joined Sreenidhi Deccan as their chief tactician. Despite being debutants, the club are expected to give tough competition to the other teams in the upcoming 2021-22 I-League season.

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