Three East Bengal players who can benefit from Raphael Messi Bouli signing

Raphael Messi Bouli is likely to join East Bengal before the game against Chennaiyin FC.

East Bengal have been forced into an unforeseen change to their squad heading into the final months of the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season. With Hijazi Maher ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury, the Torchbearers have opted to replace the centre-back with an attacking forward.

The Red & Gold Brigade have brought Cameroonian forward Raphael Messi Bouli to Oscar Bruzon’s side for the final stretch of the campaign. The ISL fans will remember the 32-year-old from his time playing for the Kerala Blasters in the 2019-20 campaign.

Messi Bouli joined East Bengal after a short stint at the Chinese second-division club Shijiazhuang Gongfu. Fortunately for them, he’s well aware of how to excel in the ISL, having scored eight goals in 17 matches for the Tuskers in the 2019-20 campaign.

Look who has reached Kolkata! 🤳#JoyEastBengal #WelcomeRaphael pic.twitter.com/iIhcMweMe6

— East Bengal FC (@eastbengal_fc) February 7, 2025

The 32-year-old’s arrival can inspire East Bengal to end the season on a positive note. Moreover, it can also have an influence on a number of players in uplifting their overall quality and contributions to the team. Here we look at the three East Bengal players who can potentially benefit the most from Messi Bouli’s signing.

3. PV Vishnu

PV Vishnu has been a standout player for East Bengal this season, being their top-scorer with four goals so far. However, the 23-year-old has definitely been unlucky not to have quite a few assists to his tally.

Vishnu has posed a pretty viable creative threat, often getting into dangerous areas and swinging in inviting crosses. Fortunately for him, there is now a new striker who can potentially get at the end of his delivery more consistently. Messi Bouli is quite an experienced forward who has the instinct to get at the end of chances. He tends to time his runs really well and trouble defenders with his physicality.

So as long as Vishnu can keep delivering accurate crosses into the box, he can now be rewarded as Messi Bouli poses a prominent option to convert those in a more clinical fashion.

2. Richard Celis

Richard Celis has produced some encouraging performances since joining East Bengal, but is yet to really hit top gear. The Venezuelan winger has been a tormenting figure for defenders with his speed and ability to rush into key areas consistently. Now with the arrival of Messi Bouli, he can potentially tap into his ultimate potential at East Bengal too.

While the Cameroonian forward has been signed to improve their goal-scoring ability, Messi Bouli also boasts impressive link-up ability and created 17 goal-scoring chances in the 2019-20 season. He can use his physicality to hold onto the ball for large periods and open up empty spaces for wingers to run into.

Celis needs to create a chemistry with the new forward, especially in linking up with him with clever passing in the final third. Messi Bouli could help send Celis into more goal-scoring situations going forward and allow the Venezuelan to start finishing off opportunities in a clinical fashion.

1. Dimitrios Diamantakos

The arrival of Raphael Messi Bouli probably signals that Oscar Bruzon will keep playing his two-forward formation for the foreseeable future. This means that the Cameroonian striker might be paired up with Dimitrios Diamantakos up-front, uplifting East Bengal’s overall threat in the opposition half.

There might be a bit of friendly competition for goals between Messi Bouli and the Greek forward, but that’s only good for the Torchbearers. In fact, Diamantakos can actually really benefit from having a new forward partner. He will have to work hard to create the right kind of understanding with Messi Bouli, especially in terms of their movement around the final third and to ensure they don’t collide in each other’s paths.

If able to create that mutual understanding, Diamantakos can probably operate more freely in the opposition box and take some more risks in trying to score goals. Moreover, with a new striker partner, Diamantakos can also slip past the centre-backs more often to get at the end of chances.

The goal-scoring burden on him will also be lowered with another prolific striker, which should help him play in a more relaxed manner with less pressure on him. This can lighten up Dimitrios to tap into his most clinical self and start finishing off chances better to end the season on a high note.

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