Three players who can benefit from Edmund Lalrindika's arrival at East Bengal

East Bengal roped in Edmund Lalrindika for 1.45 crores.

East Bengal have managed a real coup by securing the signing of Edmund Lalrindika from Inter Kashi ahead of the beginning of the 2025-26 season. The Torchbearers have opted to bring back the Indian forward, who had a short loan stint with the Kolkata side in 2020, and improve their forward line for the next season.

Lalrindika is now a pretty experienced forward, who has made his impact felt for the Indian national team too. The 26-year-old is a versatile player, who is capable of operating in multiple roels to try and get the very best out of those around him in the frontline.

Not only will East Bengal’s goal-scoring prowess be improved by Lalrindika’s arrival, but he is also likely to have a positive impact on the performances of some important players in the Red & Gold Brigade’s squad. Here we look at the three players who can benefit the most from Edmund Lalrindika joining the East Bengal unit.

3. Raphael Messi Bouli

East Bengal should ideally hold onto Raphael Messi Bouli for another campaign after watching him impress in the second half of the 2024-25 season. He scored quite a few key goals and added dynamism to their frontline with his physical presence and clever movement.

Messi Bouli can definitely benefit from having a player Edmund as his striker partner at East Bengal next season. The Cameroonian forward loves to link-up with his fellow striker and Lalrindika has enough technical quality to smartly link with a striker, play smart passes and move his side forward.

Messi Bouli can also play in a slightly deeper role in a front line with Edmund, being able to create chances for the India forward and also dictate East Bengal’s attacking patterns more often. The goal-scoring burden being slightly lowered from Messi Bouli will energize him and allow him to play more attractive, attacking football going forward.

2. PV Vishnu

PV Vishnu had an impressive 2024-25 season for East Bengal and was arguably one of their best players of the underwhelming campaign. He was a bit unfortunate not to get more goal contributions, mostly because of his teammates not being able to finish off their chances that well.

Well, that might now be solved with the arrival of someone like Edmund Lalrindika to the East Bengal side. That is because Vishnu can now be more confident of making darting forward runs and swinging in clever passes into the box, knowing there will be another clinical presence like Lalrindika to get at the end of chances.

He can slip in passes into the far post or into the six-yard box because he can expect to find Lalrindika lurking in the key areas. Moreover, Vishnu can also start to switch positions with Edmund on occasion to make East Bengal’s attacking pattern more unpredictable and help them score more goals.

1. Naorem Mahesh Singh

Naorem Mahesh Singh showed a lot of signs of improvement under Oscar Bruzon’s guidance at East Bengal, especially impressing in a central midfield role in his system. He could be permanently placed in a central area for the foreseeable future, as it gives the India international more leverage and freedom to roam around in the empty spaces in the opposition area.

Mahesh Singh can also thrive with a partner like Edmund in the attacking areas because of Lalrindika’s impressive ability to link up with teammates, play clever one-two passes and drive his side forward. Mahesh can also be a bit more experimental with his passes and try to create more chances, knowing that Edmund will try his very best to get at the end of his passes.

Singh will look to take upon a more creative role within East Bengal next season and clinical players like Edmund will be pivotal to helping him get more goal contributions.

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