Scouting Report- Subha Ghosh: The future of Indian attack?

The 19-year-old striker scored three goals in the recently concluded I-League season.

Khel Now takes a vivid look at the new Indian striker, Subha Ghosh who has risen from the ranks at Mohun Bagan by surprising several critics and saving the Mariners multiple times with his crucial goals.

The 19-year old was part of the Mohun Bagan youth academy and also represented the Mariners junior team in age-group competitions. He was sensational in the Zee Bangla U-19 Premier League where he won the Golden Boot inspiring Mohun Bagan to the finals of the competition.

Ghosh always had the instinct of a striker who is hungry for goals, something rare in India. With Kibu Vicuna's arrival at the club, the Spaniard called up three youngsters from the junior team, and one of them was the prodigious young forward Subha Ghosh himself.

Scouting Report

Age: 19

Date of Birth: 22 December 2000

Position: Centre Forward

Height: 174 cm

I-League Debut

The 19-year old lanky forward made his debut against Churchill Brothers replacing Nongdamba Naorem at the 72-minute mark when his team was 1-4 down already. However, Ghosh showed promise in that little time as he always manoeuvered the half-spaces very well and found himself in goal-scoring position twice and out of which he scored once - making him a trump card for Kibu Vicuna throughout the I-League campaign.

Ghosh showed glimpses of his talent in the Calcutta Football League where he scored against NBP Rainbow as he came on as a substitute and scored the solitary goal of the match as the Mariners won 1-0.

The goal against Churchill Brothers despite the heavy defeat gave Subha confidence to strive for more and therefore he scored his second goal of the campaign in the next match against TRAU FC in a 4-0 thumping win. His final goal came in a very crucial situation against Punjab FC when the chips were down for Vicuna's men in Ludhiana. Dipanda Dicka has already scored a goal and right at the death when Ghosh found himself in space as he danced past two defenders in the penalty area before squaring it past Kiran Chemjong to earn a draw crucial draw for the Mariners.

Teenager Subha Ghosh rose into the limelight for I-League champions Mohun Bagan this season!

Positives

Yes, Subha Ghosh was young and inexperienced to start any of the games for the Mariners this season and that's exactly why Kibu Vicuna used him as a substitute to utilising his acceleration to good effect.

However, his three goals in the current I-League campaign in limited minutes have shown that this youngster has that hunger to strive forward. If we analyse the goals we will be able to find out his prime positives. The first goal he scored was against Churchill Brothers when the mariners were 1-4 down and yet he chased every ball and created pressure from the front and also got in good positions, waiting to make the right move. He almost pulled it off as his shot from a tight angle struck the bar on it's way out.

Minutes later, he latched onto a cross from Fran Morante and reacted before anyone else to put it past James Kithan in goal. This proves his instinct as a striker, as Ghosh looks like scoring goals every time he steps on the field.

Secondly, he followed his goal against Churchill with another one against TRAU in the next match as he came on late in the game with the game already buried by his teammates. However Subha gave his best as always as he stood behind two TRAU defenders, waiting for a cross from the right channel as Faaiz lost his marker and was about to deliver a cross.

Ghosh accelerated and found the vacant area between two opposition defenders, beating Deepak Devrani in physicality and ended the move with a fine header. Here the goal proves that despite his age, he is a very sharp young forward. He was aware of the positioning of the defenders and made use of his chance when it came his way.

Lastly, his third goal came at a crucial stage when the Mariners were a goal down against Punjab away from home. In came Subha Ghosh and right from the start, he put pressure on the defenders. The chance came at the 88th-minute mark when Teah Dennis was way too casual with his ball control near the penalty area as Ghosh charged him and won the ball and danced past several players before calmly slotting in the equaliser. Just as easy as you like from a seasoned forward. He remained calm under pressure and always fancied his chances of scoring. despite the angle. His body language was always positive which reflected on the final outcome.

Aspects to Improve

Subha Ghosh is still very inexperienced and also raw as a forward to start games for Mohun Bagan this season which Kibu Vicuna understood clearly. Hence he tried to integrate him to the senior level by using him as an impact substitution.

With all the positivity around the 19-year old forward, there are a lot of things which the Mohun Bagan academy needs to improve on. Physically, he needs to make himself ready for the big stage as a starter and to continue the way he plays for ninety minutes. Also with 75% passing accuracy, he is at a good level but he has only featured for 120 minutes throughout the season so he would like to take that number higher in future.

Similar to

The 19-year old forward has shades of strikes who operate with pace and positioning. it is still early days for him but he reminds us a lot of Sunil Chhetri in his younger days when he had great goalscoring instincts and ability to be at the right position whenever required.

Future

A player of his calibre has the world at his feet if he can stay true to his potential. India badly needs a player who can score goals for the national team, something which is shouldered by Sunil Chhetri for a long time now. If Ghosh remains focused and keeps his feet on the ground then he can possibly be that forward which the country needs.

Ghosh has featured 120 minutes this season, scoring thrice and beating his xG of 1.19 and in that small amount of time, he was also able to create five chances which prove his mettle as a forward who can also create for his teammates. While his 75% passing accuracy proves he is a neat passer.

Ghosh has all the ingredients to become a superstar in future but he needs to take every step very cautiously. While India continues their hunt for someone who can share the burden of goals with Sunil Chhetri, players like Vikram Pratap and Subha Ghosh give Indian football fans some hope for the future.

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