Three ways East Bengal can benefit from Hamid Ahadad’s shock departure

Hamid Ahadad parted ways with East Bengal due to the uncertainty regarding the ISL.

East Bengal surprised many fans with their recent announcement on parting ways with striker Hamid Ahadad, who leaves after only joining them in the 2025 summer transfer window. The reason Ahadad expressed his desire to be closer to his family amid the frustrations around no football because of the uncertainty around the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season.

That means East Bengal will now be forced into searching for a quality replacement for Ahadad, who scored four goals in 10 games for the Red & Gold Brigade. Fortunately for them, Ahadad has left the club during the ongoing winter transfer window, and that means that East Bengal have the opportunity to replace him with another striker.

Even though Hamid arrived at East Bengal with a lot of hype around him, having played for notable clubs like Wydad AC and Raja Casablanca in the past, he couldn’t perform to his best ability for East Bengal. As a result, we look at three ways the Red & Gold Brigade can actually benefit from Ahadad’s surprise departure.

3. Opportunity to look for fitter player

Soon after arriving at East Bengal, Hamid Ahadad struggled to cope with the demands of the Indian Football scene for East Bengal. He couldn’t really be able to reach his maximum potential in terms of reaching full fitness levels, which resulted in the striker failing to complete an entire 90 minutes for a single match for the Kolkata giants.

Ahadad couldn’t be able to start the Durand Cup Kolkata Derby against Mohun Bagan because of his fitness issues, and he looked clunky and unfit in the 0-0 draw in the Super Cup derby as well.

Hamid’s two goals came against Namdhari FC and the Indian Air Force in the Durand Cup, and he only started in one of them. The Moroccan forward lacked the necessary sharpness or match fitness levels to be a thorn for the defenders, despite his predatory instincts enabling him to score a few nice goals. East Bengal can now search for a player who will be more readily available in the majority of their matches and someone who is capable of playing the entire 90 minutes at a high intensity to keep up high energy levels in their frontline.

2. Find a more ruthless goal-scorer

It’s not like Hamid Ahadad turned out to be a complete flop for East Bengal, as he did manage four goals in 10 matches, which was a decent turnout. However, the Red & Gold Brigade realise that they probably need a more consistent goalscorer up front for them to really be able to compete for major titles going forward.

They need a forward who doesn’t just score in every 3-4 matches, but someone capable of going on a goal-scoring spree across many games.

The Kolkata giants also require a more proactive forward who is able to get at the end of chances more frequently with clever movement in the area, but also help with the link-up play.

More than anything else, East Bengal needs to look for an adequate replacement for Hamid, someone who can convert opportunities on a more regular basis and shows a higher variety in terms of putting away chances in the final third. If able to do so, East Bengal should march their way to a positive winning streak and compete at a higher level this season.

1. A younger talent for long-term benefits

East Bengal couldn’t really look into any long-term prospects after signing a 31-year-old forward in Hamid Ahadad. Now that the Moroccan forward has been forced to leave the club, the Red & Gold Brigade has the opportunity to build for the future. They need to start scouting for a younger forward who could potentially remain a part of the team for multiple years. By signing a younger striker, they could also add more energy and pace to their frontline if the forward is quick enough to get at the end of chances and also outpace defenders in a sprint.

They can also potentially negate the risk of persistent injury with a younger centre-forward, which can benefit their squad for the long term as well. Rather than sniffing around for a stop-gap short-term replacement, East Bengal have to take advantage of Hamid Ahadad’s exit by signing a quality younger forward – probably in their 20s – to add more sharpness to their attacking front and also someone who can be a part of their squad for many years to come.

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