NorthEast United FC have completed the signing of veteran goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharja ahead of the new Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season, the club announced on Tuesday.

Bhattacharja who has played in every Hero ISL season so far has featured in 90 matches in the competition and will add a lot of experience to the NorthEast United FC squad that has a number of promising youngsters.

The 32-year-old has played for the two Kolkata giants and will now turn up for the Highlanders next season as part of Marco Balbul’s project.

“We are very happy to have a top-quality goalkeeper like Arindam in our squad. He is very experienced. He will lead us from the back and help the team to reach our goals this season,” NorthEast United FC technical director Ohad Efrat commented on the signing.

With Bhattacharja’s arrival, there will be healthy competition for the position in goal at NorthEast United FC with Mirshad Michu performing well in the role last season.

Bhattacharja started his career at Churchill Brothers where he played for five seasons before moving to Mohun Bagan. He then returned to Churchill Brothers for a season before signing for FC Pune City. After three seasons at the club, he joined Mumbai City FC for a season before signing with ATK FC. He has since plied his trade in Kolkata also featuring for ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal.

The goalkeeper won the Golden Glove award in the 2019-20 season when he kept ten clean sheets for ATK Mohun Bagan as he helped them reach the Hero ISL final.

Bhattacharja will now hope to have a similar impact at NorthEast United FC where he is expected to be part of the leadership group in the team.

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