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What's the story?
Former Indian international Mehtab Hossain has put pen-to-paper and signed a contract with Mohun Bagan FC. The Kolkata based club pipped rivals East Bengal to the signature of the veteran midfielder, who will join the squad for the 2018-19 I-League campaign.
In case you didn't know...
Hossain has donned the jersey for both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the past. The central defensive midfielder played for Mohun Bagan from 2003 to 2006. He would then go on to sign for rivals East Bengal in 2007 and would stay contracted to them till 2017.
Heart of the matter
Mohun Bagan has won the race for veteran midfielder Mehtab Hossain. The central midfield player, who has had stints at both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, will play for Bagan once again next season.
There was already a verbal agreement in place, as revealed by Mohun Bagan's football secretary Swapan Banerjee, "The coach (Sankarlal Chakraborty) gave us a list of three players and we have identified the three players. Among these three players is Mehtab Hossain who has been identified as a potential signing in the midfield department. And the coach is happy that we are going for him. Mehtab is joining us.
"We contacted him and turns out, he is willing to join us. We have held talks and he has given a verbal agreement that he will play for us," Banerjee had said.
What's next?
Mohun Bagan had a decent 2017-18 I-League campaign, finishing in third place and ahead of rivals East Bengal. East Bengal, however, has been quick and lethal in the transfer market and brought in players to ensure the same doesn't happen next season.
Author's take
The signing of Mehtab Hossain has given Mohun Bagan a push in the right direction as they head into the new season. They will be looking to do better than they did in the previous edition of the I-League when they finished 3rd. Hossain will bring the skill and the experience to the Mohun Bagan team.
