Mumbai City FC winger Vikram Singh is making his presence felt at his club following his tremendous performances throughout the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 campaign.

The 20-year-old proved his mettle in the Islanders’ win against Chennaiyin FC in their last game with a goal in the dying minutes, halting the Islanders seven-game winless slump.

The winger, hailing from Chandigarh, has netted thrice for Mumbai City FC and is the third-highest Indian goalscorer in the league, behind the likes of Liston Colaco (6) and Sahal Abdul Samad (4).

“It’s great that I’ve been able to score three goals so far in this season. I had aimed for more at the start of the season, to be honest, but it’s been good so far, and I hope to keep performing in the upcoming matches,” Vikram told the-aiff.com.

Having risen through the ranks at I-League club Indian Arrows, Singh has also represented India at all the junior levels: U-14, U-16, U-19, and U-23. Being an enterprising player and a bankable one under head coach Des Buckingham, Singh has his sight set on a senior national team call-up.

“It’s not just me, but everyone who is playing the sport dreams of playing for the senior national team. I’ve played across so many different junior national teams, and I know how different the feeling is to put on the India jersey. I have heard about the matches against Bahrain and Belarus, and I am keeping my fingers crossed. At the same time, I need to improve with every given day” stated Vikram.

“I love playing with that kind of a feeling. When that moment comes, whenever that is, I’ll try my best to grab it.”

Prior to the start of the Hero ISL 2021-22 campaign, Singh played a vital part for the India U-23 side in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers where he scored the match winner against Oman in a 2-1 win. The 20-year-old believes all these events are a stepping stone to his dream of representing the Indian men’s national team.

“The U-23 camp was a brilliant experience for me. It came right before the season, so I also got those extra weeks to prepare. But what was really important for me is that it was just one step away from the senior national team,” he recalled. “I always had the feeling that if I did well, I always stood the chance of getting my first India call-up.”

While not being the first player to make the switch from Indian Arrows to Hero ISL, the winger shares the field with several of his former Indian Arrows teammates such as Akash Mishra, Ashish Rai, Rohit Danu, Rahul KP, Prabhsukan Gill, Deepak Tangri, Narender Gehlot amongst many others.

“So many of my former Arrows teammates are now playing for different ISL teams. It’s always fun to play against them. Obviously, I know more about how they play and their strengths and weaknesses, but they also know the same about me. So, it’s a nice rivalry that we have on the field. We’re all good friends off the field, but on the pitch, we are all playing for our own teams,” Vikram opined.

Mumbai City FC, having lived up to their billing in the first half of the season, will have to buckle themselves up in order to make the cut for the top four. The Des Buckingham-led side are placed sixth in the league table with 22 points in 14 games.

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