ATK in talks to sign Bengaluru FC midfielder Erik Paartalu

The Australian has been one of the mainstays in the Blues' midfield in the last two seasons.

Indian Super League clubs have already started striking deals to strengthen their squad for the upcoming challenges next season. Similarly, ATK are also looking to keep pace with the pack and are in talks with Bengaluru FC midfielder Erik Paartalu, Khel Now understands.

The Australian midfielder joined Bengaluru in 2017 and since then he has been a fan-favorite at the Kanteerava Stadium. Starting from his indomitable passion for the badge to scoring headers from set-pieces, Erik Paartalu has been daunting in every way for the Indian outfit.

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The 33-year-old defensive midfielder will be a huge asset for ATK, considering his experience of playing in different countries like Australia, South Korea, Qatar and China - coupled with his prior experience in Indian football.

ATK have merged with I-League outfit Mohun Bagan and will play as one entity next season. Considering Bagan's form this season, it is more or less certain that the new entity will play in the AFC Cup and adding someone like Paartalu in the midfield will only lend more steel to the middle of the park and allow the likes of David Williams and Roy Krishna to play more freely.

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Erik Paartalu has played a crucial role for both Albert Roca and Carles Cuadrat in their respective seasons in-charge of the club. In his first campaign, he guided Roca's men to a top of the table finish in the league phase, but lost out to Chennaiyin FC in the final. However, the Blues redeemed themselves by topping the league phase again next season and went on to lift the trophy.

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In this ongoing season, Paartalu has been an integral part of the Bengaluru side. The midifelder has scored twice, along with five assists and has also maintained a healthy passing accuracy of 77%. The physical presence of Erik Paartalu in the middle of the park and during set-pieces never fails to threaten the oppositions and will undoubtedly elevate the standards of ATK if the move materializes.

Erik Paartalu recently featured in Bengaluru FC's 1-0 win over ATK in the playoffs first leg at the Kanteerava Stadium last week.