IN A POTENTIAL transfer move of the season, Mumbai City have bagged themselves the FC Goa attack's prized spearhead, Hugo Boumous.
The former Laval and Moghreb Tetouan player arrived at Margao back in 2017 and since then has scored 20 goals in 49 appearances for the franchise. He's been key to helping the Gaurs win two major trophies; the Super Cup in 2019 and the ISL League Winners' Shield in 2020, the latter earning FC Goa their first appearance in the AFC Champions League.
Earlier on Monday, Boumous posted on his Instagram profile saying his "journey with FC Goa" was over.
While the club sought to downplay the comment for the time being, later it became clear that FC Goa were waiting for Mumbai City to trigger the exit clause in Hugo's contract by agreeing to pay a transfer fee of Rs 1.6 crore; a record in Indian football.
Now under the management of the City Group, the Mumbai City administration is slowly ramping up their spending in an effort to capture their maiden national level trophy. The club finished top of the table in ISL back in 2015; a feat that didn't come with a silverware until the 2019-20 season.
ISL is set to begin in the second half of November, using a central venue to hold matches behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And if the transfer trends are anything go by, both Mumbai City and FC Goa are going to be teams to watch out for; the former transitioning into a more formidable entity fuelled by a global footballing powerhouse, and the latter undergoing a thorough rebuilding of its ranks before venturing into international waters for the first time.