East Bengal make it three from Kerala Blasters after a spree of new signings
I-League side East Bengal FC have announced the arrivals of Pritam Kumar Singh, Vikas Saini and Anil Chavan, who join CK Vineeth and Rino Anto for the 2020-21 football season at the Kolkata club. Vineeth, Anto and Singh have moved to the Red and Golds from the Indian Super League. The club has agreed terms with the five players and the contracts will come into force from June 1, 2020.
Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru duo join East Bengal
CK Vineeth and Rino Anto, as exclusively reported earlier, had agreed to deals with East Bengal FC for the next two seasons. The two have played together for Bengaluru FC during their I-League days and have also played a season together for Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.
Vineeth has played for several other sides like Jamshedpur FC, Chennaiyin FC and United SC. Vineeth's recent seasons have been plagued with injuries and suspensions and with the Kannur-born lad not fit enough to play the entire 90 minutes the managers have used him in cameos in the second half in key matches . Vineeth also has 7 caps for the Indian men's football team but is yet to score any goals.
Anto played for Mohun Bagan, Salgaocar and Quartz before moving to Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters later in his career. Anto has had very limited game time in the recent seasons like CK Vineeth, and their moves to East Bengal could allow them to reshape their playing career.
Young Guns
Central Defender Soraisam Pritam Kumar Singh joins East Bengal from Kerala Blasters. Singh's contract at Kerala was all set to expire at the end of this season and a limited amount of game time at the Blasters has resulted in him opting for East Bengal.
Singh graduated from the famed Shillong Lajong academy after being part of their elite youth setup. He played three seasons for Lajong in the I-League including a loan spell at NorthEast United in 2014. Singh joined Kerala Blasters in the 2017-18 season but never made it to the playing XI in the Kochi-based side.
Vikas Saini was a part of the East Bengal U-18 team in the 2015 U-18 Y-League. He has played for Kolkata sides Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan SC and BSS Sporting Club primarily in the Calcutta Football League and I-League 2nd Division. He also played a season at Delhi's Hindustan FC before joining Mohammedan in the 2019-20 season. Saini plays as a defender but can also shift to the position of a right-back.
Anil Chavan is a versatile defender and hails from the esteemed SESA Football Academy. He joined ATK Reserves in the 2019-20 season in the I-League 2nd Division after leading SESA FA to the Goa Pro League 2019-20 by delivering a stellar performance in the GFA First Division 2018-19.
East Bengal are also close to a deal with former Chennaiyin forward Rafael Crivellaro, which could be the club's second foreign signing after Iranian winger Omid Singh.