Unusual quietness in transfer market over ISL suspense

Panaji: In recent times, Mohun Bagan Super Giant have often proved the busiest during the transfer windows, picking up any big player who’s ready to move. This season, the champions have been unusually quiet.

Their rivals, East Bengal, in contrast, have been busy, signing two foreign players -- Mohammed Rashid (Palestine) and Miguel Ferreira (Brazil) – besides snatching India striker Edmund Lalrindika for a transfer fee of Rs 1 crore from Inter Kashi. They have now made a bid for India left-back Jay Gupta with a transfer fee upwards of Rs 1.5 crore.

This season, East Bengal is the exception to the lull that is currently existing in the transfer market. Most other clubs, as evident by Bagan’s inactivity, have paused their signings owing to the uncertainty over this edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). ISL clubs have also delayed start to their pre-season training, which was expected to kick off between July 15 and July 22.

This stalemate arises given that FSDL, the body that runs the league, have told club owners that the league will not kick off unless there is clarity over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its marketing partners.

Bagan’s only move so far has been for Kiyan Nassiri, who left the club last season and moved to Chennaiyin FC. The Kolkata giants now want him back in a move which will cost the club Rs 30 lakh, a modest transfer fee going by their record moves in the past.

Clubs like FC Goa have identified new foreign players but have not completed the signings. Several extensions have also been kept on hold. It’s a similar story at Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin, Odisha and Hyderabad, while Bengaluru and Mumbai City have adopted a cautious approach.

“We are still a couple of weeks away from our slated start to the pre-season, so we will keep ourselves prepared in the best way possible to try and react to whatever developments that may arise in the next couple of weeks,” said FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur. “We are weighing up the current scenario and assessing the best way forward.”

This season’s ISL was expected to kick off on Sept 14, as per the calendar approved by the AIFF League Committee last month. However, there is now growing suspense over the future of the league itself.

Unlike other clubs, Goa find themselves in a difficult situation as they have a competitive fixture early in the season. Having qualified for continental championships after winning the Super Cup last season, Goa have a preliminary round AFC Champions League Two clash against Al Seeb FC on Aug 13 at home. A win against the Oman champions will take them to the AFC Champions League Two while a loss will consign them to the third-tier AFC Challenge League.

“We are in a unique situation where we have a competitive fixture which extends beyond the Indian football ecosystem and there is an expectation from AFC that we will participate in that,” said Puskur.