Why the ISL 2025-26 could be last-chance saloon for Sahal Abdul Samad at Mohun Bagan?

Mohun Bagan will face Kerala Blasters in the ISL 2025-26 opener.

Mohun Bagan are set to kick off a new era in the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL), with Sergio Lobera ready to take over the club and help them maintain their place on top of the Indian football ladder. The Mariners can expect multiple changes under Lobera, which could see them become a more possession-heavy team that relies on slick passing moves to thrill their opponents.

The Spanish gaffer will be reliant on his midfielders to play a crucial role in implementing his tactics perfectly, and one player who needs to have a prolific campaign is Sahal Abdul Samad. In his three years at Mohun Bagan, the India international has actually enjoyed a lot of success in winning the ISL Shield title twice as well as the ISL trophy!

However, Sahal has not really played to his ultimate potential and gone through patches of frustrating form that haven’t helped his case. Even though Mohun Bagan didn’t really need the midfielder’s contribution much in the last few seasons, that could change in the 2025-26 ISL campaign as Lobera looks to unlock the full potential in Sahal. Here, we look at why the 2025-26 ISL campaign could be a final shot for Samad to strengthen himself as a key player for the Kolkata giants.

Need for more goal contributions

Sahal had a pretty dull 2024-25 ISL campaign when it came to goal contributions, only managing one single assist in 19 appearances all throughout the campaign. He wasn’t really that much of a creative threat, only creating 10 chances and having a 69% passing accuracy all throughout the campaign.

While the India international is an asset because of his ball-winning and pressing skills, as well as his silky technicality in moving the ball forward, Mohun Bagan signed him to enhance their goal threat from midfielders. They definitely would expect Sahal to bring more goal contributions with his performances, be it as a starting player or as an impact substitute.

Samad definitely has the quality to finish off chances with grace, as he’s proven in the past for the Mariners and the India football team. However, he needs to add more lethality to his final product in terms of getting the ball into the danger zones more often with accurate final third passes. The 28-year-old also needs to be smarter in making runs from the midfield and finish off chances with more efficiency to improve the unpredictability about Mohun Bagan’s goal-scoring threat and assert himself as a viable goal contributions outlet.

Raise match sharpness levels

Even though it would be unfair to label Sahal Abdul Samad as an injury-prone player, he has looked clunky and a bit unfit in several matches for Mohun Bagan over the last few ISL campaigns. He does tend to cover a lot of ground in matches, but sometimes tends to switch off and not be at his sharpest in moving his side forward.

The India international probably needs to be a bit more proactive, not only with his movement, but in terms of improving his game and positional awareness. Sahal has to be braver in getting into the empty pockets of space in the opposition half to help create dangerous attacking moves for his side and help them score more goals.

Especially if the 28-year-old is played in an attacking midfield role or as an advanced no.8, he has to work harder with his pressing and his link-up play to really shine in Lobera’s system. He has to sharper with his reaction timing and in making split-second decisions quickly to be able to outwit the opposition players and be an unpredictable threat for the Kolkata giants.

Need for stronger performance in big games

Mohun Bagan realize that in a 13-game season in the 2025-26 ISL, they need to get maximum points from the ‘big games’ against prominent opponents to win the title. To do so, they need their star players to stand out and produce their most clinical performances in these matches.

Sahal wasn’t really able to really stand out in any major matches in the 2024-25 ISL campaign, with his only assist coming in the 3-2 win over NorthEast United in the second match of the campaign. After that, he wasn’t able to get a goal or assist in a single match, frustrating fans with some underwhelming performances.

The India international can see himself drop down the pecking order at Mohun Bagan if he continues being ineffective in the big matches. The Mariners need a technically adept player like Sahal to be able to outwit the toughest opponents and help give them an edge in the big matches. Unless he’s able to do so, the midfielder just won’t be able to establish himself as a permanent starter for Mohun Bagan.

Time is running out for the 28-year-old midfielder, who isn’t really getting any younger. With promising young midfielders coming through the Indian football system, Sahal could see his long-term future as a key Mohun Bagan player come under intense jeopardy unless able to perform at a high level consistently under Sergio Lobera in the 2025-26 ISL season.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.