Mumbai City FC, on Monday, announced the signing of Croatian defender Mato Grgic from NorthEast United FC.

Grgic made his Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) debut last season with the Highlanders and established a solid partnership at centre back with fellow countryman Mislav Komorski for the first half of the campaign to help the Highlanders reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in their history.

With Grgic and Komorski holding fort at the back, NorthEast ended the league phase of Hero ISL 2018-19 with the meanest defensive record, letting in the least number of goals (18). The combination was disrupted after Komorski’s injury, which severely handicapped the side in the latter stages of the campaign.

The Croat affected a whopping 148 clearances and 32 blocks in his 19 matches, proving his impeccable positional awareness in the backline. Grgic also captained the side during the second leg of their semi-final tie against eventual champions Bengaluru FC.

At Mumbai City, Grgic will join up with his former NorthEast United colleague Rowllin Borges, who moved in the same direction earlier this month.