Three ways Miguel Figueira's signing can improve Mohun Bagan in 2026-27 season

Miguel Figueira could be the pivotal figure for the Mariners in the middle of the pitch

Miguel Figueira has surprised many in Indian football by making the shocking decision to join Mohun Bagan ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign. The Brazilian had gained his fame at East Bengal, whom he played a vital role to help win the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) title, only to end up leaving the club after experiencing the impressive high with them.

Figueira refused to renew his deal with East Bengal and now joins Mohun Bagan with the vision of helping them regain the stand as the dominant team in Indian football.

Despite the sneers from the Torchbearers’ supporters, the 26-year-old will be determined to help resolve Mohun Bagan’s issues and make them a much more entertaining and consistent team for the 2026-27 season.

Fortunately for the Mariners, they are acquiring a top-quality attacking midfielder in the form of Miguel – who can help improve their creative problems and also be the kind of driving engine that they lacked for many games last season.

Here, we look at the three ways in which Miguel Figueira’s arrival can improve Mohun Bagan’s performances from the next season.

3. Solving their set-piece troubles

One of the major problems that Mohun Bagan faced in the 2025-26 ISL campaign under Sergio Lobera is that they really struggled to score goals from set-pieces. They only managed a handful of goals from corners or free-kicks, probably most prominently Jason Cummings’ equalizer in their 1-1 draw against East Bengal featuring as one of them.

Despite getting a plethora of corners and indirect free-kicks on a consistent basis, the Mariners just couldn’t seem to be efficient enough in terms of putting chances away from set-pieces. Fortunately for them, that problem might now be solved with the arrival of someone like Miguel Figueira.

The Brazilian midfielder boasts an impressive set-piece taking qualities, being able to swing in extremely inviting crosses from corners to threaten opposition players. He has great accuracy with the weight and length of his crosses, making it absolutely ideal for the physical members of his team to convert them from close range.

Miguel can help make Mohun Bagan a formidable side in terms of taking set-pieces again, ensuring that their unpredictability from corners & free-kicks help add much more variation to their goal-scoring capability.

2. Enhancing threat on counter-attacks

Even though Mohun Bagan scored 23 goals in the 2025-26 ISL campaign, the second-most for any side, their goals really seemed to dry up after the first few weeks of the campaign. The same team that scored 14 goals in their first four matches of the season only managed to bag nine goals in their remaining nine matches!

A reason for that is because they seemingly became quite predictable and their possession-heavy nature greatly restricted their ability to threaten opponents on counter-attacks. Well, with Miguel’s arrival in their midfield, perhaps the Mariners can now also become a major threat when it comes to the transitions.

That is because the 26-year-old midfielder absolutely thrives at grabbing the ball and absolutely bursting forward with it – with his physical attributes and admirable change of pace making him capable of turning defence into attack really quickly.

Figueira is excellent at being able to carry the ball into the danger zones, which can benefit the pacy Mohun Bagan attackers around him as well. He will need to maintain the sharpness shown for East Bengal last season, and if able to maintain that kind of vibrancy about him, then the Brazilian midfielder can absolutely raise the excitement levels of Mohun Bagan’s counter-attacking qualities.

1. Element of surprise in final third

What Mohun Bagan really seemed to lack in the majority of their matches last season is the absence of a really unpredictable no.10. Dimitri Petratos and Jason Cummings were both underwhelming in that role for the Mariners, and neither of the Indian midfielders could significantly raise their quality either.

But the arrival of Miguel Figueira can be the perfect way for the Mariners to solve that creative issue in the final third. The Brazilian midfielder was able to create an impressive 43 goal-scoring chances for East Bengal in 12 matches last season, as well as nailing 25 crosses.

The 26-year-old definitely boasts a special element of surprise when it comes to having to create chances in the decisive areas in opposition half. He can only carry the ball into the danger zones, but has that special touch in being able to slip a teammate through on goal or find his teammates with perfectly laid crosses or through balls.

Figueira’s ability to create things out of nothing can be prolific for Mohun Bagan, significantly raising their quality in the build-up play and help them create more big chances on a consistent basis going forward.

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