ATK go after Mohun Bagan stars to fill their ISL 2017-18 'retention' quota

ATLETICO DE KOLKATA are trying to hold onto two of the Mohun Bagan players they had in their squad last season who are favourites with the local populace.

At the top of their "retention" list is Debjit Majumder, the 29 year old goalkeeper who rose to prominence at Mohun Bagan over the last 3 seasons, and played a key role in the club securing 2 national trophies and finshing in the top 2 of the I-League every time. He even won the Goalkeeper of the Season award during that, and made his way into the national team camp.

With his contract with Mohun Bagan up this summer, both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have made him offers of more than Rs 1 crore. But Atletico de Kolkata have put the biggest offer on the table, around Rs 1.3 crore.

Although Debjit has not signed for ATK yet, he is expected to go with the ISL franchise, possibly by Wednesday.

To fill the second "retention" slot, ATK are looking at two other Mohun Bagan players, including defender Pritam Kotal and winger Prabir Das. Pritam is a regular at the national team and has been playing for Mohun Bagan for a long time, and Prabir Das is an up-and-coming player whose star status is on the rise. Both players offer lots of experience and expertise and are expected to command an amount close to Debjit, if ATK are to hold onto them.

Under the ISL draft rules, franchises can only hold onto 2 players from last season, and since these two local Mohun Bagan players played a big role in helping ATK win the title after a mid-table finish during regular season (including Debjit's heroics in the ISL final penalties), ATK are keen to take these Mariners on for the whole upcoming season.