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What’s the story?
India’s star U17 goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem is said to have impressed former Manchester United and current West Ham United manager David Moyes with his performances during the FIFA U17 World Cup. Now the Indian Arrows custodian is in talks with the Hammers.
In case you didn’t know…
Dheeraj’s performances in the FIFA U17 World Cup had impressed one and all, though India lost all of their three Group A matches. Despite these losses, his heroics under the bar had alerted a number of scouts from top clubs.
Heart of the matter
Earlier, Sportskeeda had reported that Dheeraj had offers for trials at English League One club Charlton Athletic and MLS side Toronto FC. Now, however, another possible suitor for the teenaged keeper seems to have come to light.
Moyes, who was one of the TV pundits for the broadcast in India, was said to have been impressed by Dheeraj’s performances and is reportedly interested in taking the goalkeeper to the English capital.
As Dheeraj’s contract with the Indian Arrows has already expired, the Hammers have gotten into talks with the keeper about a possible trial.
"Right now he has applied for visas and is looking to go to the UK for trials. The interest is mainly from the lower league clubs like Charlton Athletic, but West Ham have also shown some interest," said Dheeraj's agent to Sportskeeda.
"But getting a visa in UK is very difficult. So we are basically going to go for the trials and see what his standard is first. Then we'll take it forward from there," he said.
What’s next?
Dheeraj has already been courting trial offers from the likes of Motherwell and Charlton. With West Ham also joining this ever-increasing list, the goalkeeper could have a problem of plenty in his hands, something that could only help him get better in the future.
Author’s take
A foreign stint can do wonders for football players, especially those from India. We have already seen the likes of national team keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and FC Pune City winger Ashique Kurinyan do well in India after foreign stints.
