Mohun Bagan retain Sanjoy Sen, sign 3 foreign players for CFL season
AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS of confusion and shock induced by the resignation of club president Tutu Bose, Mohun Bagan seem to be slowly pulling themselves back together, and they have become active in the transfer market.
Firstly, the club officials went into damage control mode after their highly rated and fan favourite physical trainer Djair Miranda Garcia was signed by East Bengal. The club moved quickly to make sure that the head coach and assistant coach, Sanjoy Sen and Shankarlal Chakraborty, both stayed with the club. Mr Sen, who had previously declared he would resign from the club if the Mariners failed to win a trophy during the 2016-17 season, but after initial discussions with the officials he chose to stay on, making it his 4th season straight with the club. But he wanted an arrangement like the past where assistant coach Shankarlal Chakraborty would be in the bench during the Calcutta Football League, although Sen promised to take a much more active role in daily practice and strategizing during CFL.
Once officials assured him of that, Sen gave the officials a list of players that he wanted in the team. Most of that list is pertaining to the I-League, which means most of the signings will not take place immediately. The club is, however, going about the market to sign players for the upcoming CFL campaign.
Among the Indian players, Mohun Bagan have some on multi-year contract that mostly played in the reserves. They are also talking to their academy head coach and former Indian international Jo Paul Ancheri about promoting about 7-8 young academy players to the first team, which may make the Marienrs' CFL squad their youngest roster in years.
But according to reports, the club has already signed the 3 foreign players they are allowed to field in CFL. Liberian midfielder Ansumana Kromah, who played for Churchill Brothers last season, has reportedly joined the Mariners. And so have two imports from Aizawl FC, namely Nigerian defender Kingsley Obumneme and Ivory Coast striker Kamo Bayi.
The club officials want to get Sony Norde and Katsumi Yusa back in the team as well but their efforts on that front are concentrated around the upcoming I-League season. And they will have a tough time accomplishing that since multiple ISL teams are also interested in signing them.
The CFL starts next month and many young and upcoming players are treating the historic local league as a platform for showcasing themselves to attract clubs during the national season, kicking off in November with ISL and I-League running in parallel. Mohun Bagan officials, too, are reportedly incentivizing players with the promise of a place in the I-League roster if they do well in CFL.
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