Five Mohun Bagan players to watch out for in ISL 2026-27

Mohun Bagan will play their first match of the 2026-27 ISL season in Guwahati against NorthEast United.

Mohun Bagan SG are determined to reclaim their title when they kick off their 2026-27 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign against NorthEast United FC on Monday (12 October, 2026).

With a new head coach in the form of Panagiotis Dilmperis at their helm, the Kolkata giants are aiming to perform at a high level and maintain utmost consistency throughout the course of the campaign to strongly compete for the ISL Shield and Cup titles.

After losing the ISL title to East Bengal due to goal difference last season, the Mariners have worked hard to strengthen their squad. They have had a pretty eventful summer transfer window, making a number of eye-catching signings.

The team overhauled their foreign core by signing four new foreign players to add more quality to their squad – as well as making a few notable Indian players signings too. Dilmperis has a stacked squad at his disposal, having multiple quality options in almost every position at Mohun Bagan.

While he will want his side to dominate the 2026-27 ISL, there are certain individuals to have major responsibilities on them to win them the group stages. Here, we look at the five Mohun Bagan players to watch out for in the 2026-27 ISL campaign.

5. Lee Erwin

With Mohun Bagan opting to let Jason Cummings leave after the end of the 2025-26 ISL campaign, they were left short in the striker department. As a result, the club decided to rope in an experienced striker in the form of Lee Erwin to be able to spearhead their frontline and add more depth in the no.9 role.

Erwin has experience of playing in the Scottish Premiership for St. Mirren in his career, and even played for Leeds United in the EFL Championship. The 32-year-old forward can be a decisive figure inside the penalty area and is particularly effective with his ball hold-up play and linking ability to help build up efficient attacking moves.

Erwin could even act as an effective substitute for Mohun Bagan, with his unpredictable presence guaranteed to trouble defenders. Once the Scottish forward can get into his groove and start putting away chances ruthlessly, he can be a major asset to win many points for the Mariners.

4. Sahal Abdul Samad

Sahal Abdul Samad appears to be one of the early benefactors from Panagiotis’ system at Mohun Bagan, with the India international enjoying a prolific start to the 2026-27 season. Samad had nine goal contributions in the 2026 Durand Cup for Mohun Bagan, as well as providing the assist for winner in the IFA Shield final against East Bengal.

Sahal is thriving under the freedom that Dilmperis offers him in his system, allowing him to play his natural game in confident fashion. Even though Sahal might not start every game for Mohun Bagan in the 2026-27 season, he’ll definitely be an unpredictable asset for the Mariners.

He’ll look to help them command things in the midfield battle, working hard to win duels and regain possession in key areas with his clever pressing. Sahal, however, will continue to look to bring that innovative boost to Mohun Bagan by playing clever final third passes, as well as sneaking his way to more goal-scoring areas to be a major thorn to the opponents.

3. Jamie Maclaren

Being one of the only two foreigners to be retained in the Mohun Bagan squad from the 2025-26 season, there is going to be a lot of pressure on Jamie Maclaren to spearhead the Mariners’ frontline in inspired fashion. Maclaren was able to score 10 goals in the 25-26 ISL campaign, being one of the highest-scorers in the competition.

He will, however, look to be way more consistent with his goals being spread across more number of games this time around with the regular league campaign making a return. The Australian forward will look to be a nightmare for defenders using his clever off-the-ball runs to sneak into the danger zones and imploring his teammates to find him inside the penalty area.

As long as Maclaren can be at his clinical best in converting the majority of chances that come his way, he can help seal many important win for Mohun Bagan and bolster their push for the ISL title.

2. Lallianzuala Chhangte

Lallianzuala Chhangte surprised many by sealing a high-profile transfer to Mohun Bagan in the 2026 summer window, ending his five-year tenure with Mumbai City FC. Chhangte will definitely add a boost in quality to Mohun Bagan’s attack, which came up short at times in the 2025-26 ISL campaign and caused them to ultimately lose the title on the basis on goal difference.

Chhangte, who scored four goals in the previous season for Mumbai City in the ISL, will be looking to add something different to Mohun Bagan’s frontline in the 2026-27 campaign. He will look to be an unpredictable threat through the wide areas, using his ball-carrying and dribbling skills to dupe his way past defenders into the prime attacking positions.

However, Chhangte will be particularly focused on trying to create big chances with his clever delivery into the area and also get into more goal-scoring areas to put his efficient finishing skills to good use for the Mariners.

1. Miguel Figueira

Arguably one of the most shocking transfers in recent ISL history took place when Miguel Figueira decided to join Mohun Bagan in the 2026 summer window, despite having starred for East Bengal last season.

The Brazilian midfielder was the star of the Torchbearers’ 2025-26 ISL title win – having seven goal involvements (two goals, five assists) – and also winning the ISL Golden Ball award. Figueira has a lot of expectations from the Mohun Bagan faithful to shine for them in the ISL, especially after having a shaky start with his performances in the cup competitions.

The Brazilian will look to justify his transfer to Mohun Bagan by being an inspiring figure for them in that attacking midfield role. He’ll look to use his expert ball-carrying skills and counter-attacking threat to help with their transitions, as well as looking to unlock the goal threat of his attacking players.

Figueira will need to be accurate with his set-piece delivery and overall delivery to create big chances consistently, and also look to finish off chances in ruthless fashion to get regular goal contributions and strongly push Mohun Bagan’s fight to win the ISL title.

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