Indian Football Transfers: Sarangi to stay, Lobo, Rafique to East Bengal

The Red and Golds have been the most active club in the transfer market in the recent weeks.

Despite the halt due to COVID-19 outbreak some Indian football clubs are keeping themselves busy by refining their squads and making new transfers. Whilst some teams are focusing mainly on offering new contracts to their players, others like East Bengal are supposedly going for a complete overhaul.

Here, we will have a look at the transfers between certain Indian football clubs from both - Indian Super League and the I-League, in the recent weeks.

FC Goa

Juan Ferrando

A day before FC Goa's official announcement, Khel Now had revealed that Juan Ferrando was set to take over the head coach duties at the club. The former Malaga ‘B’ manager shall assume the responsibilities at the club as they prepare to play in the prestigious AFC Champions League.

Back then, a source close to the development had stated to us, “The FC Goa management went through 100s of CVs from all over the world and arrived at a decision that Juan will be the best person to take forward the legacy of the club and play the same brand of football which Goa is known for.”

Kerala Blasters

Ritwik Das

Goal.com disclosed that Real Kashmir FC midfielder Ritwik Das would be joining Kerala Blasters ahead of the upcoming season. The 23-year-old has been a consistent performer for the Snow Leopards over the course of the last two seasons in the I-League. Moreover, he will look to flourish under the tutelage of the newly-arrived head coach, Kibu Vicuna. If the move falls through, Ritwik will join the likes of Sahal Abdul Samad and Jeakson Singh in the list of prodigious young Indian midfield players that Kerala possess.

Bengaluru FC

New contracts to four starlets

Bengaluru FC presented contract extensions to four young players towards the end of April namely Naorem Roshan Singh, Ajay Chhetri, Leon Augustine and Namgyal Bhutia. Augustine even made his debut in the ISL in the 2019-20 campaign. Ajay’s contract runs for the next two seasons whereas the other three individuals have been tied with the club for a further three years with this development.

Odisha FC

Shubham Sarangi extends stay

19-year-old right-back Shubham Sarangi has extended his tenure with Odisha FC until 2023. The teenager was a shining light for the club last season, as they finished sixth in the ISL. Sarangi had represented them on 17 occasions wherein he assisted a goal and racked up impressive defensive numbers too.

Hyderabad FC

Nikhil Poojary

Hyderabad FC extended the contract of India international Nikhil Poojary by three years. Poojary was a vital cog in the team’s unit last time around, as he clocked an impressive 1555 minutes on the field in total. Operating from the flank, he will be expected to don a more prominent role under the guidance of Albert Roca next season.

Abhishek Halder & Dimple Bhagat

In addition to Poojary, the young duo of Abhishek Halder and Dimple Bhagat has also penned new contracts with Hyderabad FC. Halder and Bhagat made eight and two appearances respectively for Hyderabad in the 2019-20 campaign, which was an extremely underwhelming one for the club otherwise. Both of their deals with the club would now last until 2022.

Gokulam Kerala FC

Shayan Roy

On 21st April, Khel Now confirmed that I-League side Gokulam Kerala FC are close to securing the signature of TRAU FC goalkeeper Shayan Roy. The 28-year-old previously also represented Delhi Dynamos in the ISL. At TRAU, Roy carried out the role of a backup custodian, as he played only three matches in the entirety of the 2019-20 season.

East Bengal

East Bengal have been on an absolute signing spree in the recent times as they have been involved with more transfers than any other Indian football club. Let's take a look at the players who are under their radar:

Mohammed Rafique

Khel Now revealed that Mumbai City FC player Mohammed Rafique is set to join East Bengal on a season-long deal. The 27-year-long has previously represented the Kolkata-based club for four seasons in the I-League. Moreover, he made 17 appearances for the Islanders over the course of the last two campaigns.

However, his impact reduced considerably in the 2019-20 season as Rafique made only six appearances for the club. He usually played as a makeshift right-back in the absence of Souvik Chakrabarti and Sarthak Golui. With the Islanders looking to hit the reboot button now, Rafique might seek a way out this summer.

Ricky Shabong

Last month, Khel Now had reported that the Red and Golds have set their sights on Indian Arrows’ defensive midfielder, Ricky Shabong. The 17-year-old is set to join East Bengal on a three-year long contract. He featured prominently for the Arrows last season. Shabong played 16 matches for the AIFF's developmental side and could be an exciting prospect for East Bengal if they manage to land him too.

Confirmed Signings

Roping in Balwant Singh from ATK was one of the first moves made by the club in the transfer market. Thereafter, the likes of Sehnaj Singh, Cavin Lobo and Bikash Jairu have joined the club too.

In fact, Khel Now had announced that Lobo would be reuniting with his former club in a three-year contract. The 32-year-old was plying his trade at Punjab FC before deciding to switch colours to the Red and Golds. On the other hand, Goal.com had revealed Sehnaj Singh’s transfer from ISL champions ATK.

The Kolkata giants made some rather decisive calls in the transfer market on Tuesday. They signed Sankar Roy from Mohun Bagan, Keegan Pereira from Jamshedpur FC, Girik Khosla from Punjab FC and Mohammed Irshad from Gokulam Kerala.