What’s the story?
Bengaluru FC have signed striker Roby Norales, a Honduran International from Liga Nacional team Platense according to major Honduran dailies. The Honduran will be the fourth foreign player in the squad for the defending champions after Cameron Watson, John Johnson and Juan Antonio.
Bengaluru FC, however, are yet to confirm the signing.
In case you didn’t know...
The central striker was a key member for Platense as they reached the final playoff places of Honduran League (Liga Nacional), scoring ten goals in the process. However, they lost in the finals Motagua and there was speculation since then about the striker’s future.
The heart of the matter
Bengaluru FC desperately needed a striker, and a foreigner for the upcoming I-League season (scheduled to start from 7th January), and for Albert Roca this is a case of killing two birds with one stone. The Spaniard would have seen Roby closely during his time as El Salvador manager.
What next?
The signing means that Bengaluru FC have a striker who guarantees 8 to 10 goals a season. Sunil Chhetri and CK Vineeth have had to share the burden of scoring goals, and with the Indian skipper not getting any younger at 32, this will aid the team.
Also, the I-League (and AFC Competition) allows a maximum of four foreigners in a team, and after Alvaro Rubio left, the void was ready to be filled for a while. The only surprise is it was left this late.
Sportskeeda’s Take
As seen before with the likes of Odafa Onyeka Okolie and Ranty Martins, quality strikers can go a long way in helping a team win the League. Bengaluru FC were one of the only teams who were highly dependent on their Indian contingency to fire them to the title, it’s safe to say that a foreign flavour won’t spoil the broth.
This, however, spells trouble for Daniel Lalhlimpuia, the highly rated 19-years-old who’s already a full International, who will be behind three top class strikers in Sunil Chhetri, CK Vineeth and now Roby Morales. Maybe, it’s time for a move?
