ISL 2019/20: Predicting the five best debutants
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) along with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) ran a nationwide scouting programme to create a pool for the Indian national team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017. The unearthed young talents were sent on exposure tours to Europe and Latin America to brush up their gameplay, eventually making them capable enough to face the quality of the World Cup.
The parallel action of the two leagues, Indian Super League and the I-League, resulted in a huge player pool allowing smaller clubs to showcase their homegrown talents on the national stage. Many of these players have gone on to become full-fledged professionals and have moved to the Indian Super League to compete against premier Indian footballers in order to compete for the national team.
Let us have a look at the most-awaited Indian players who are going to debut this season in the Indian Super League :
#5 Edwin Vanspaul (Chennaiyin FC)
Edwin Sydney Vanspaul is essentially a central midfielder but can play in other positions as well. Akbar Nawas used Vanspaul as a winger, fullback and an out-right striker as well in his time at Chennai City FC.
He is a great utility addition to the team and will certainly be of good use to John Gregory to rotate the squad. Vanspaul was the Indian with the highest assists in I-League 2018/19.
After grabbing attention in the I-League, Vanspaul would look to raise the bar when he debuts this season for Chennaiyin FC. If he performs well he can go on to become one of the most talented midfielders from Tamil Nadu after the experienced Dhanpal Ganesh.
