Analysis: SC East Bengal release squad list of Indian players

SC East Bengal has released their squad list of Indian players on the deadline day sealing the roster with the signing of Balwant Singh.

The Reds and the Golds have a total of 4 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 8 midfielders, and a couple of strikers in the squad.

The latest entrant to the Indian Super League already had the likes of Abhishek Ambekar and Samad Ali Mallick on their payroll and they decided against renewing the contracts of the remaining squad players going for a complete overhaul of the squad that represented the club in the 2019-20 I-League season.

After their application to join the league got accepted, the club management acted in a brisk manner to add the likes of former Chennaiyin FC striker Jeje Lalpekhlua, former FC Goa, the consistent Narayan Das, former Mohun Bagan and ATK goalkeeper Debjit Majumdar, Sehnaj Singh, former Bengaluru FC and ATK player Eugeneson Lyngdoh

Jeje spent 6 years at Chennaiyin FC and became a club legend in his own right registering a total of 23 goals in 69 matches during his 6-year stay at the club. He is one of the handful of players who have only played for a single club in the ISL since its inception in 2014.

Das has a total of 90 appearances in the Indian Super League, the second most for any player in the league since its inception. He made 42 appearances for FC Goa, turned out 35 times for Odisha FC (or Delhi Dynamos), and 13 appearances for the now defunct FC Pune City.

Preparations for the 2020-21 ISL season

The Bridge

East Bengal FC has a rich history as they were founded in 1920 and have won:

• The prestigious Durand Cup a record of 16 times,
• The Calcutta Football League a record of 39 times,
• But have failed to win a league title for the last 15 years.

The club is aiming to be back to winning ways with their new manager and the new signings brought in by him. Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler will be at the helm of the club in their inaugural season in the Indian Super League.

Fowler has helped the club make some excellent recruitments in defense with the Australian-English defender Scott Neville and the British defender Danny Fox. German midfielder Matti Steinmann, Congolese winger Jacques Maghoma, Irish winger Anthony Pilkington, and Welsh striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway are one of the strongest batch of foreign attacks in the league.

Indian roster of the East Bengal squad

Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumdar, Mirshad Kuttapunna, Mohammed Rafique Ali, Sankar Roy

Defenders: Abhishek Ambekar, Gurtej Singh, Lalramchullova, Mohammed Irshad, Narayan Das, Rana Gharami, Samad Ali Mallick

Midfielders: Bikash Jairu, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Mohammed Rafique, Moirangthem Loken Meitei, Sehnaj Singh, Surchandra Singh Chandam, Wahengbam Angousana, Yumnam Gopi Singh

Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh