Alex Saji signs long-term contract extension with Hyderabad FC

More than three ISL teams pursued the defender during the summer transfer window.

Hyderabad FC had a challenging 2023-24 season under their previous ownership, marked by uncertainty surrounding the club’s future. However, one positive outcome was the emergence of young talents, with Alex Saji being one of the standout performers.Saji’s impressive season drew significant attention from several ISL clubs, including East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Punjab FC, who expressed interest in signing the young defender. With Hyderabad FC’s future unclear then, Saji was looking like an easy target for clubs looking for an Indian defender.

When the BC Jindal Group took control of Hyderabad FC towards the end of the summer transfer window, one of their first decisions was securing Saji’s future at the club. Despite receiving offers from other ISL clubs, the new ownership declined them. Although losing him as a free agent at the end of the season was a risk, the club were determined to keep him.

Saji, along with head coach Thangboi Singto, represented Hyderabad FC at the ISL 2024-25 Media Day and he also captained the team in their first two matches of the season, which shows that the club trusted his ability to lead the young team.

Khel Now can exclusively reveal that Hyderabad FC and Alex Saji have now agreed on a new three-year contract, extending his stay until the end of the 2027-28 season.

“Hyderabad FC were fully aware of other ISL clubs’ interest in Alex Saji. They wanted to avoid a situation where other clubs could approach him by January 1, 2025, with pre-agreements for the following season. As a priority, the club reopened extension talks with Saji and finalized a new contract,” a source close to the player told Khel Now.

Saji played 10 matches for Hyderabad FC during the 2023-24 ISL season, marking his most consistent run of first-team football since making his debut with Kerala Blasters’ reserves in the 2017-18 I-League Two. He made 16 appearances in the I-League for Gokulam Kerala, where he won two I-League titles before moving to Hyderabad FC in 2022. Saji also played seven matches for NorthEast United during the 2022-23 season on loan.

Hyderabad FC haven’t had the best start to the 2024-25 ISL season, losing their first two matches. However, with more time to train—especially considering the team had less than 15 days of pre-season preparation—fans are optimistic that results will improve.

Japanese winger Cy Goddard has already featured in both games, but he might want to impact the game more in the final third and get fully fit in the upcoming days.

Brazilian striker Allan Paulista debuted yesterday against Punjab FC after landing less than 72 hours ago in India and with only one training session under his belt. Coach Thangboi Singto hopes that with more training, Paulista will solve his team’s goalscoring problem.

“Allan has come in, one day training. He lasted 32-33 minutes, didn’t expect much from him, the only instruction was to not run too much and when you get the ball to do something with players running behind him. As he is technically good like other Brazilian players,” said Thangboi Singto in the post-match press conference after Hydrabad FC’s 2-0 defeat against Punjab FC.

Hyderabad FC have also signed Serbian centre-back Stefan Sapić, but are awaiting his visa approval to begin training. The club are continuing to work on securing their remaining foreign signings in the coming days.

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