Football action might not be in plenty, but the month of July saw the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) clubs leave no stone unturned to build a competitive side for the fifth season of the league. The likes of Bengaluru FC, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City made most of the noise while others like ATK and NorthEast United FC went about their business in an astute manner trying to plug in the gaps that their squads showed last year.

Carles, Chhetri headline Bengaluru’s summer

After having forced to cut short his stay with Bengaluru FC last season, Carles Cuadrat is once again back in the Garden City. But this time, there’s a slight change in his role at the club. The former assistant coach has been roped in as the head coach for the 2018-19 Hero ISL season. Having spent close to a decade working with the former Bengaluru gaffer Albert Roca, the club believes that the long association the two had shared will help in continuing their philosophy in the competition.

While Cuadrat has shown no hesitation in continuing the Spanish influx at the club with Bengaluru signing former RCD Mallorca winger Francisco ‘Xisco’ Hernández Marcos on a one-year deal, the biggest news was reserved for their skipper Sunil Chhetri who signed a year’s extension to his existing contract that will now keep him at the club until 2021.

Other notable signings made by the club include the captain of the Bhutan national team Chencho Gyeltshen, full-back Rino Anto, Sairuat Kima and Gursimrat Gill.

Jamshedpur, Pune eye local talent

Continuing with their philosophy of providing Indian talent with a platform, Jamshedpur FC have roped in the services of former Chennai City FC player Michael Soosairaj for the upcoming season. The star of his side in the Hero I-League in the last two years, the 2017-18 season also saw the 23-year-old Soosairaj being named the ‘Best Midfielder’ in the league.

The Tata Group-owned club, which recently appointed César Ferrando as the new head coach, has retained the services of the Indian ‘Spiderman’, Subrata Paul, and has also signed up former Kerala Blasters FC goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury. 

FC Pune City, meanwhile, brought in the services of former ATK midfielder Shankar Sampingiraj and Nikhil Poojari, a youngster who was impressive in the Hero I-League last year. The Stallions have also done well to retain some of their most influential players from last season including Marcelinho, Emiliano Alfaro and Adil Khan.

NorthEast strengthen their core

Having retained the likes of TP Rehenesh, Rowllin Borges and Reagan Singh for the 2018-19 season of the Hero ISL, the Highlanders have tried to bring in quality players to make up for the weaknesses that had hampered their ambitions last season.

Leading the pack of new faces at NorthEast United is the 22-year-old forward from Nagaland Kivi Zhimomi. Though the stats don’t favour him, the pacy attacker was a key member for the Gokulam Kerala FC side in the Hero I-League last season that saw them finish a respectable seventh in the league.

Joining Zhimomi, the first-ever Naga to feature in the Hero ISL, is Maharashtra lad Nikhil Kadam. Ever since graduating from the Pune FC academy, Kadam has played an instrumental role for the teams he has featured in. In addition to the pair, NorthEast have also secured the services of Redeem Tlang, Pawan Kumar, Gurwinder Singh, Simranjit Singh, Seityasen Singh, Pawan Kumar, Lalthathanga Khawlhring and Girik Khosla.

Mumbai City add more might, while Delhi Dynamos retain youth

One of the areas that bothered Mumbai City FC last season was their backline. With just three clean sheets in their 18 games and having conceded 29 goals a year ago, it’s no surprise that the Islanders have chosen to strengthen their backline first.

Full-back Subhasish Bose has been roped in along with Souvik Chakrabarti and Shouvik Ghosh to add muscle to their defence while the responsibility of getting the goals for the side will lie with Alen Deory.

Delhi Dynamos have been fairly quiet in terms of transfer activity over the past month. However, young prodigy Lallianzuala Chhangte and 26-year-old Romeo Fernandes have extended their stay with the club.

Goa look for new stars

With a number of key players deciding to move to a new team in the coming season, FC Goa will have to rely on a handful of new talents at their disposal. The Gaurs have added players with a proven track record in Indian football. Midfielder Lenny Rodrigues and goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte were key members of the Bengaluru FC side while Jackichand Singh was impressive during his time at Kerala Blasters FC last season. Add the retained players in Ferran Corominas and Hugo Boumous to this mix and Goa once again looks like a dominant side.

ATK, Chennaiyin, Kerala Blasters - not slowing down

After a relatively disappointing campaign during the 2017-18 season, Kerala Blasters are going out all guns blazing with a host of new signings that include Abdul Hakku, Naveen Kumar, Seiminlen Doungel, Matej Poplatnik and Slaviša Stojanović.

Defending champions Chennaiyin FC have added the Mizo trio of Isaac Vanmalsawma, Zohmingliana Ralte and Laldinliana Renthlei to their ranks, while also bringing back veteran Inigo Calderon on a one-year extension.

Two-time Hero ISL champions ATK have made some high-profile signings to their squad after an unsatisfactory run during the last season. New head coach Steve Coppell will have the likes of Manuel Lanzarote to bolster his attack while Gerson Vieira will serve as a more than reliable addition in defence.

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