ISL 2017: FC Pune City close in on 2016 Golden Boot winner Marcelinho
What's the story?
The upcoming fourth season of the Indian Super League is all set to witness the spectacular performance of Brazilian winger Marcelo Leite Pereira, popularly known as Marcelinho, who is on the verge of joining FC Pune City, according to Goal India.
The demand for Marcelinho is incredibly high as the player is set to be signed for a whopping $350,000 on a one-year contract.
As the 2016 ISL Golden Boot winner, he came into the limelight and also became one of the most desirable players of the ISL, finally heading to Antonio Habas' Pune side.
In case you didn't know...
The well-known 30-year-old winger, who played for Delhi Dynamos in the 2016 edition, impressed everyone with his speed and technique, leading his team to the semifinals with a total of five assists and ten goals.
The heart of the matter
The 2017/18 Indian Super League season is the fourth season of the popular franchise league since its establishment in 2014. Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC are the new teams that have joined the league in its expansion. This makes it the first edition of the ISL where more than eight teams will be participating.
Therefore, with the new signing by FC Pune City, the Stallions seem to be creating their path to success. New signing Marcelinho will now link up with Kean Lewis - also signed by Pune City - who co-incidentally partnered with him at Delhi Dynamos during the 2016 season.
What's next?
With the all but confirmed signing of the fast winger, it is yet to be seen if he will be able to score his way to FC Pune City's success this season.
Marcelinho will join Pune City on the back of a hugely successful spell in India last year, one that will stand him and his new club in good stead for the upcoming campaign that kicks off in mid-November.
Author's take
Since Pune City have never been to the semi-finals of the ISL, here's hoping that Marcelinho is able to push them past the group stages and bag the title under the guidance of Habas. A possible success seems quite near in sight with the additions of the talented midfielder Isaac Vanmalsawma as well as defender Nim Dorjee Tamang during the domestic draft.
The club have also added Emiliano Alfaro to their attacking unit, therefore, the acquisition of Marcelinho will see the Orange-Purples have one of the best frontlines next season.