Chennaiyin signs Nerijus Valskis in first ISL transfer of 2022

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Nerijus Valskis with the ISL Golden Boot award

Jamshedpur has mutually parted ways with Indian Super League Golden Boot winner Nerijus Valskis as the Lithuanian striker has been signed by two-time ISL winners Chennaiyin.

The club Twitter handle tweeted “Jamshedpur FC and Lithuanian forward Nerijus Valskis have mutually parted ways. We wish Nerka the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Valskis started the ongoing ISL season on a good note with an assist and two goals in the first two matches but has failed to contribute in three more starts and a substitute appearance. 

With Valskis no longer at the club, Greg Stewart would be expected to continue his fine goalscoring form that has helped the Red Miners solidify a place in the top four while former Kerala Blasters striker Jordan Murray would also be expected to chip in with goals for the rest of the season.

“Chennaiyin FC is delighted to announce that an agreement with Nerijus Valskis on a free transfer has been completed. The Lithuanian forward joins the club for the remainder of the season.”

In the club’s official statement, Chennaiyin welcomed back Valskis handing him the No.9 jersey for the remainder of the ongoing ISL season. Club co-owner Vita Dani talked about how the striker would be key in replacing Rafael Crivellaro in the current squad setup.

She said,

“Although the loss of Rafael was a hard one to take, we are extremely delighted to have Valskis join our ranks once again. We all know as Chennayin FC fans, of what he is capable of in our kit. I think his signing will empower us for the remainder of the season.”

Ahead of the 2029-20 ISL season, Chennaiyin’s brilliant scouting system brought the striker to the ISL and he the frontman immediately lit up the league with 15 goals and 8 appearances winning the ISL Golden Boot ahead of established names in Indian football like Roy Krishna and Bartholomew Ogbeche.

Before the start of the 2020-21 ISL season, Valskis joined Jamshedpur and scored 8 goals for the Red Miners as they missed out on a playoff place at the business end of the season.

Also read: Kerala Blasters and Jamshedpur settle for a point in a top-table clash 

The striker has posted a small “Thank you for the memories” post with a photo with former head coach Owen Coyle but would now be looking ahead to working with Bozidar Bandovic. The former Olympiacos assistant manager has strengthened the Marina Machans defense but has failed to get the strikers firing after a short pre-season.

The Marina Machans have struggled for goals this season as Polish striker Lukasz Gikiewicz has failed to fire with Mirlan Murzaev and Lallianzuala Chhangte playing as the ‘False 9’ for Bandovic’s side.

Valskis knows the league well, has won the Golden Boot with the club before, and almost took the Chennai-based club to a third ISL title before the erstwhile ATK stopped them in their tracks. The Lithuanian is already present in Goa and would be a bubble-to-bubble transfer leading to his availability for the late kick-off against Jamshedpur on Sunday.

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