Why PV Vishnu deserves East Bengal starting role over Naorem Mahesh Singh?

PV Vishnu has performed well for East Bengal whenever he played.

East Bengal finally picked up their long-awaited first win in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign with a hard-fought victory over NorthEast United. The Red & Gold Brigade showed admirable spirit with their defensive outing, completely neutralizing the threat of one of the best attacking lines of the division.

But it wasn’t just their defenders or goalscorer Dimitrios Diamantakos who worked their socks off, resulting in the win. A player who stepped up against adversity was winger PV Vishnu, with the young winger producing a tenacious display. PV Vishnu was given his opportunity as both Naorem Mahesh Singh and Nandhakumar Sekar were suspended, and he ended up capitalizing on his chance to make a bright impression.

Vishnu’s performance against the Highlanders, as well as his displays as a substitute earlier in this campaign, shows he deserves more starts and playing time. He can be an ideal replacement for the out-of-form Mahesh Singh, and here we look at why.

3. Better output from crosses

Vishnu showcased his hard-working nature against NorthEast United as he often bypassed his marker on the left to get into promising positions. The 22-year-old winger is also blessed with plenty of creativity and the desire to swing in inviting crosses into the middle.

Mahesh has lacked creativity this season, not getting even one assist and seeing his experimental final passes go to waste.

Vishnu, on the other hand, is more to the point with his delivery and tends to be less experimental. Before the ISL campaign, he showcased his creativity in a lot of Durand Cup and even Calcutta Football League games, boasting an impressive crossing ability where the ball often lands in the striker’s path in the area.

That is why it’ll be smarter for Oscar Bruzon to keep playing Vishnu on the left flank and giving him more encouragement to swing in crosses from the wide areas to create more chances for East Bengal.

2. Unpredictable movement in final third

To his credit, Vishnu has been able to make a positive impact whenever he’s been introduced on the pitch at East Bengal because of his clever ability to time his movement perfectly. He is hard-working enough to track back and help defensively, but it’s in the opposition half that he taps into his unpredictability.

Mahesh, however, has lacked that surprise factor and has not been able to trouble opponents with his movement – often making the same kind of runs in the opposition half. Vishnu has shown that he has something in his skillset to catch the opposition defenders off guard.

He is blessed with an impressive turn of pace, allowing him to burst past defenders when they least expect it. More than that, he also has plenty of variations with his movement in the final third as he can drift outwards to swing in crosses from deep and even cut in towards the box to keep the opponents guessing.

He almost won a penalty for his side against NorthEast by troubling Bekey Oram with his smart running and his unpredictability gives him one over the out-of-form Mahesh Singh right now.

1. Nose for the goals

Vishnu has, so far, at least been able to outperform Mahesh Singh in terms of goal contributions in the ongoing ISL campaign. He at least has one goal, which he scored in the Red & Gold Brigade’s loss to Kerala Blasters earlier this season.

He did so minutes after coming on as a substitute, showcasing his expert movement and game-reading ability. Vishnu also scored a lot of smart goals in the previous CFL campaign and excelled under freedom in the final third.

As long as Bruzon can allow him to be more expressive and allow the winger to make clever runs into central areas, Vishnu should be able to get at the end of more chances. He has that knack of sneaking into the dangerous empty areas in the final third and has a lot of variation with finishing off chances too.

The 22-year-old is high on confidence right now and can only get better with the right support, which makes him a more threatening option than Mahesh Singh.

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