Thoiba Singh Moirangthem became Odisha FC’s latest acquisition after the youngster from Manipur signed a three-year deal with them, the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) club confirmed on Tuesday. The Bhubaneswar-based club has been one of the most active teams of late in terms of incomings having added the likes of George D’Souza, Kamalpreet SinghKamaljit SinghHendry Antonay and Saurabh Meher at the back.

"Can't wait to get started with Odisha FC and make my mark in the ISL and possibly get into the national team. I am excited to be a part of a strong core of young Indian players and I am sure I will be learning and improving daily at Odisha FC," Thoiba said after signing for Odisha.

The Manipur-born midfielder has featured in age-group competitions for India and spent the last two seasons with Hero I-League club Minerva Punjab FC. The 17-year-old also holds the distinction of being the youngest player to score in the AFC Cup after finding the back of the net for Minerva against Nepal’s Manang Marshyangdi in the competition last year.

While commenting on his latest signing, Odisha FC President Mr Rohan Sharma said, "Thoiba is a very exciting and versatile player and I am really happy we were able to bring him in the squad this year. Though he is extremely young, he is a player who has been able to get minutes in the I-League and in the age-group competitions for India."

“He will have a good mentor in Vinit Rai, who can help him mature and grow as per the club's ideologies. He has an extremely high ceiling and hopefully, this year he finds his feet to develop into a better player for the future," he added.

The signing of Thoiba will be a boost to Odisha’s options in midfield, which was already bolstered with the addition of Samuel Lalmuanpuia,  Baoringdao Bodo and Laishram Premjit Singh.