ISL 2018-19: 5 Key Players for Chennaiyin FC This Season
Very few of them have stayed with Chennaiyin FC to enjoy two silverware for the fifth consecutive season because there has been plenty of squad tweak under the management of current coach John Gregory.
The signings have been top-notch which helped him win the league in his debut season in the subcontinent. The likes of Henrique Sereno and Bikramjit Singh played a huge part in the title success. But, they have decided to look elsewhere in order to assay a new challenge.
Despite these two outgoings, there is no doubt about the quality available at stack within the team. In addition to that, the arrivals of Eli Sabia, Andrea Orlandi, Carlos Salom and Ngasepam Tobonda Singh have bolstered the squad even further.
As the new season is about to kick off in two weeks time, let's look at the five key outfield players who could have total ascendancy within the team and assist the blues to challenge for the title once again.
#5 Jeje Lalpekhlua (Striker)
Jeje Lalpekhlua has been marching with the blue jersey since the inception of the club in 2014. The Mizoram striker is the second highest scorer in the Indian Super League with 22 goals from 4 seasons.
The 27-year-old has been the integral cog of Marco Materazzi and John Gregory's attacking system. Under the Italian, the forward played a supportive role to Stiven Mendoza up front which paved way for the first ISL title.
But, the current Chennaiyin FC manager is much dependent on Jeje's outcome as he has full faith in the strikers' goalscoring ability. His trust got paid off as the forward was able to find the back of the net seven times and assist once from 17 games.
Hold up play, competence to pick out passes and banging in goals - Jeje Lalpekhlua has got it all as a striker.
The front four including Raphael Augusto, Gregory Nelson, Francesco Fernandes and Jeje will be expected to be involved in goals galore.