ISL: Jeje Lalpekhlua wanted by Jamshedpur FC
Jeje Lalpekhlua has a couple of offers on the table, including one from Jamshedpur FC and another from his previous ISL club Chennaiyin FC, Sportskeeda can confirm. The striker is a free agent after running down his contract with the two-time ISL winners this summer.
The 29-year-old has been part of the Marina Machans ever since the club's inception. During this period, the former Mohun Bagan forward has scored 25 goals from 79 appearances in domestic and continental competitions.
A source close to Sportskeeda said: "Jeje is wanted by Jamshedpur and Chennaiyin at present. The striker desires to stay at Chennaiyin, but Jamshedpur are offering him more than the Blues. He has not taken any decision yet."
Since the Mizoram-born striker spent a year on the treatment table owing to injury, Chennaiyin are hesitant to match Jamshedpur's offer, which is believed to be substantially more.
It is unsure if the Blues will come back to better Red Miners' offer, but Jeje wants to return and extend his stay with the two-time ISL winners. Chennaiyin fans hold the former Mohun Bagan striker in high regard for his commitment towards the club since 2014.
ISL club Chennayin are yet to extend the contracts of key players:
The 2019-20 ISL runners-up are yet to officially extend the contracts of crucial players including that of Golden Boot winner Nerijus Valskis, as well as Raphael Crivellaro, Eli Sabia, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Lucian Goian, Germanpreet Singh and Thoi Singh.
Tying down these players to new deals will be vital to maintain the stability going into the next season. CSK manager Owen Coyle, who turned the table around during the second part of the season, is yet to extend his stay at the club as well.
However, in the midst of the contract turmoil, Anirudh Thapa has agreed a deal to stay with the ISL club, as reported by Sportskeeda.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC finished eighth in the league table and scored only 22 times during the 2019-20 season. Hence, the Red miners see Jeje as a solution to their goal-scoring crisis after David Grande, Sumeet Passi and Farukh Choudhary tallied a combined three goals in the ISL last season.