KERALA BLASTERS HAVE added stregth to their domestic arsenal with the signing of 21 year old Naorem Mahesh Singh.
Naorem hails from Manipur, where his youth career started at the Birchandra Memorial Sporting Club. Later he became a part of Shillong Lajong FC's youth setup, where he rose through the rank to the first team.
After playing in the national level youth leagues as well as the Shillong Premier League, Naorem finally got a break in top division football at the age of 19 when he became a part of Lajong's all-Indian lineup at the I-League 2018-19. The forward featured in all of the 20 matches in the league campaign for the Boys in Red, including 13 starts.
Among the Lajong fans, Naorem became an immediate star on 28th October 2018 when he scored a brace against Aizawl FC, including a world class left footed bender that was hailed by many as the goal of the season, helping his club bag their first win of the national season; one of just three games the rookie-filled side managed to win. Naorem ended the season with 4 top flight goals to his name.
Due to Shillong Lajong being relegated, he couldn't play in I-League 2019-20. Later it was revealed that Lajong had decided not to participate in the 2nd Division League either, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move to KBFC comes as a relief to Naorem, and also provides him with an opportunity to continue playing at the highest level and use the experience to grow as a player.
For the Blasters it reflects a pattern of long term investments in talented Indian youth to build a team that will deliver consistently, as they have done with Sahal Abdul Samad, Givson Singh, Nishu Kumar and others.