Three key areas where Mohammed Rashid could improve East Bengal FC

The Palestine international midfielder has earned 49 caps for his national team

East Bengal have managed a real coup with the signing of Palestine international midfielder Mohammed Rashid to strengthen their midfield for the 2025-26 season. The 30-year-old midfielder has been playing at the professional level since 2017 and has garnered tons of valuable experience playing all around Asia in his career.

Rashid began his career playing in the Palestine football scene before securing a big move to Indonesian side Persib Bandung in 2021. He went on to have short stints at Indonesian clubs like Bali United and Persebaya Surabaya and also had a short stint at Egyptian club Smouha FC.

The 30-year-old is coming to East Bengal, having made more than 100 appearances at the club level and having bagged 49 appearances for the Palestine national football team as well. Rashid has been brought on board to add more steel and strength to the East Bengal midfield line and help create a more compact shape for Oscar Bruzon’s side going forward.

Here we look at the 3 ways Mohammed Rashid’s presence can help East Bengal.

3. Provide more cover to defenders

Mohammed Rashid has played as a specialist defensive midfielder for the majority of his professional career and perfectly knows the role of that position. The Palestinian midfielder loves to sit back to help provide more defensive cover to the centre-backs and ensure that his side isn’t left vulnerable on the counterattacks.

Rashid excels at reading the opposition’s moves, meaning he can often position himself in the right areas to make crucial clearances or interceptions to win back possession regularly.

He can also potentially sit in between the two centre backs to help them feel more secure against opposition players. Rashid will also be tasked to follow the movement of opposition no.10 or attacking players to help bring more steel to the defensive organization and make East Bengal a tougher nut to crack.

2. Bring more aggression into the midfield battle

East Bengal were often left in a vulnerable position in the midfield battle during matches against prominent opponents in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign. This caused the opposition side to dominate them and hit them with threatening counterattacks, often causing the Red & Gold Brigade to concede sloppy goals. However, the presence of an energetic and hard-working midfielder like Mohammed Rashid can now potentially bring a stop to that.

The 30-year-old will look to ensure that his side isn’t bullied or overwhelmed in the midfield battle anymore by taking an aggressive attitude. He will be tasked with making crunching challenges and winning back possession in key areas to drive his side into clinical transitions.

A smart defensive midfielder like Rashid can ensure East Bengal’s midfield isn’t overrun with his smart positioning and game-reading ability, as he’ll look to cut out the opposition counterattacks and help bring more sturdiness in the central areas.

1. Allow more freedom to the attacking players

The reason why East Bengal only scored only 27 goals in the 2024-25 season is because their attacking players were often burdened with defensive responsibilities. They constantly had to track back during games, and even fullbacks were cautioned against venturing too far forward.

However, a reliable defensive midfielder like Rashid can probably help improve that because he will be encouraging his attacking players to move higher up the pitch.

The 30-year-old can definitely cover for any overlapping fullbacks by filling in for their position in their absence, and he can also encourage the wingers as well as any attacking midfielders to burst forward in numbers.

Rashid’s presence can give a sense of freedom for players like Naorem Mahesh Singh, Bipin Singh, and potentially even Miguel Ferreira to venture further forward to create more chances and amplify East Bengal’s attacking strength.

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.