Kerala Blasters in talks to sign Indian Arrows star Givson Singh

The 17-year-old started all 16 games for the young side in I-League last season.

Indian Super League (ISL) club Kerala Blasters are close to completing the signing of Indian Arrows star Givson Singh Moirangthem. A source close to the developments informed Khel Now that the 17-year-old attacking midfielder will sign an initial three-year contract with the club and that negotiations have reached the final stages. According to the source, another ISL outfit Mumbai City FC are also believed to be competing for the teenager's signature.

Givson Singh was one of the Arrows' most important players in the 2019-20 I-League, having started all 16 matches for them in the competition. He also registered two goals and assists each and featured on the pitch for a total of 1,340 minutes.

His performance last season seems to have impressed Kibu Vicuna, the new head coach of Kerala Blasters. Vicuna was the coach of I-League title-winning side Mohun Bagan last season and Givson Singh played against them for the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat on January 9, 2020.

The 17-year-old who hails from Manipur was first spotted by Punjab FC (formerly known as Minerva Punjab). Consistent performances with them resulted in his entry into the national team youth set-up. He was subsequently brought into the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Elite academy in 2016, and was also an integral part of the India U-16 side that reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship in 2018.

In 2019, he joined Indian Arrows. As mentioned earlier, he went on to make vital contributions to their attacking department later in the season - such as scoring the equaliser against Churchill Brothers on December 28, 2019 (Arrows went on to win 2-1) and converting an injury-time penalty to hand his side a 1-1 draw against Punjab FC on March 3, 2020.

Givson Singh has already stood out among footballers of the same age, thanks to his amazing work-rate. His attacking instincts, ability to score goals from midfield and also link-up with the forwards and excellent passing benefitted the Arrows greatly last season. At Kerala Blasters, he is expected to develop further under coach Vicuna, who has already made it clear that he will be working on developing the youngsters at the club by handing them a lot of chances.