Indian Football Transfers: Redeem Tlang to Goa, Sahil's reunion with Kibu?

Several official announcements took place in the past week confirming interesting player signings by ISL clubs.

After months of speculation, Indian Super League franchises finally began confirming some of the transfers they have made in the Indian football market in the first week of June.

There is uncertainty over the commencement date of the next season, but teams are securing their targets before other sides pounce on them. Without further ado, let us look at some of the transfer activities that have taken place in the last couple of weeks.

Odisha FC

George D’Souza

We had included the news of Sporting Club de Goa left-back George D’Souza joining Odisha FC in one of our earlier transfer round-ups. The franchise confirmed it earlier this week, as they welcomed the 26-year-old to their squad. George had played 20 matches in the Goa Pro League last season and amassed four goals. His arrival further enriches Odisha’s already promising set of full-backs.

Thangboi Singto

Goal reported that Odisha FC’s assistant coach Thangboi Singto would be leaving the franchise. The AFC Pro-License holder had joined the setup ahead of the 2019-20 season. However, the franchise would be opting for a new set of coaches with Josep Gombau leaving the role of head coach in March. There is no update regarding Singto’s new role though.

Hendry Antonay and Saurabh Meher

Odisha further announced the signings of young defenders Hendry Antonay and Saurabh Meher from Indian Arrows. Hendry is a right-back, whereas Meher plays as a centre-back. Infact, both of them have represented the youth teams of Chennaiyin FC for some span of time in their respective careers.

Bengaluru FC

Pratik Chaudhari

Pratik Chaudhari left Mumbai City FC on June 2, 2020. Within a day, Bengaluru FC put out the news that the centre-back has joined the former ISL champions. Chaudhari was one of the top performers for the Islanders in the previous campaign and would be embarking on a new journey in his career, as he has penned a two-year deal with BFC.

Lalthuammawia Ralte

Along with him, Bengaluru FC also brought back their former goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte. The custodian had turned out for them in the historic 2016 AFC Cup final against the Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. Most recently, he spent a brief loan stint with East Bengal last season and would now be the backup to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Wungngayam Muirang and Joe Zoherliana

Furthermore, Bengaluru have added the duo of Wungngayam Muirang and Joe Zoherliana to their squad. Both of them are 21-year-olds. Muirang can play as a centre-back and a central defensive midfielder. On the other hand, Zoherlina is a right-back.

The former was a Gokulam Kerala player until the previous season, whereas Zoherliana represented Aizawl FC. With the amount of quality present in Bengaluru’s setup, these relatively younger lads would possibly be considered for backup roles.

Hyderabad FC

It was a week where Hyderabad FC significantly reduced the members in their squad, as ten players departed from the franchise. However, they were adamant on beefing up their goalkeeping department, which w list here.

Laxmikant Kattimani

Firstly, the Nizams extended the contract of 31-year-old Laxmikant Kattimani until the 2020-21 campaign. He played six matches for the first-team last season and would probably be donning a secondary role next campaign.

Subrata Paul

Most importantly, former Arjuna Award winner Subrata Paul joined Hyderabad FC. Subrata has had a remarkable career in the Indian football circuit over the years and was once a mainstay of the national team too.

He has now shifted base from Jamshedpur FC, where he was the first-choice custodian and played 15 matches for them in the ISL 2019-20. Albert Roca seems to have identified Hyderabad’s biggest weakness and the management ensured that they brought in one of the best goalkeepers in the country to don the gloves for the upcoming season.

FC Goa

Redeem Tlang

https://twitter.com/FCGoaOfficial/status/1267388893621444611

25-year-old winger Redeem Tlang left NorthEast United and joined FC Goa. The former Shillong Lajong player spent two seasons with the Highlanders and was one of those who regularly represented them in the ISL. He played 35 matches and scored four goals for NEUFC. Goa have reinforced some real quality in their forward line by securing Tlang’s services.

NorthEast United

Gurjinder Kumar

Mohun Bagan full-back Gurjinder Kumar would be soon seen playing for NorthEast United according to Goal. In 2015, Gurjinder was also part of FC Pune City. However, he was vital in Bagan’s title-winning campaign under the tutelage of Kibu Vicuna.

The 29-year-old had been with the Mariners for three seasons and played 24 I-League matches for them. This move might be a result of the merger between ATK and Mohun Bagan, with both squads looking to offload certain players.

Kerala Blasters

Kibu Vicuna keen to reunite with Sk Sahil in complex deal

According to our exclusive report, Kibu Vicuna is keen to reunite with his former Mohun Bagan starlet Sk Sahil. However, the deal would certainly be a complex one, as Sahil is currently on a four-year contract with the I-League champions. ATK want him to play for the merged entity that would turn up in the ISL next season.

Additionally, the likes of Hyderabad FC and Odisha FC are in talks to rope in the midfielder too. However, Khel Now understands that the Blasters might have an edge in the chase, as they have Vicuna on their side and he could potentially convince the lad to sign for the Kochi-based franchise.  

Jamshedpur FC/Mumbai City FC

While there weren’t any new arrivals to Jamshedpur’s squad, it is necessary to note that forward Farukh Choudhary has officially left the franchise. In 43 matches for the Men of Steel over the course of the last three seasons, he scored three goals and registered four assists. Back in April, Goal had stated that Farukh could join Mumbai City in a multi-year deal. We had included this news in one of our earlier transfer round-ups too.

Additionally, CK Vineeth's departure from Jamshedpur was also confirmed by the club. We had reported about his arrival at East Bengal in another article a couple of weeks ago.