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Mohun Bagan are looking to strengthen their defence by bringing Bikramjit Singh on loan from Mumbai City.
This is Bikramjit's first season in the ISL but the 25-year-old has not made any appearance for Mumbai City FC yet. The lack of game time could be one reason that Bikramjit is eager to move to Bagan. He's behind Joyner Laurence in the pecking order, while Lucian Goian has cemented the spot in the other central defence position.
Bikramjit, not to be confused with the Delhi Dynamos player of the same name, is expected to drive the change in the defence for Mohun Bagan.
The defensive duo of Lalchawnkima and Eze Kingsley have buckled under pressure from opposition attackers of late.
This has seen Bagan lose the Kolkata Derby to East Bengal and only win two of their last four games in the I-League. Bagan's title hopes are still alive but they really had to act on their defence.
Bagan are placed sixth on the table with 15 points, six short of leaders Chennai City FC. The biggest worry is their goal difference, which is just one, as the defence has leaked 12 goals in 10 games.
It remains to be seen if Bagan, who are expected to join the Indian Super League (ISL) bandwagon next season, can retain Bikramjit in the deal. Bikramjit has, after all, made nine appearances for Bagan between 2016 and 2018.
A product of the now-defunct I-League developmental side Pailan Arrows, Bikramjit honed his skills at DSK Shivajians. He made two appearances for Bharat FC in the I-League in the 2014-15 season but the team shut shop.
Bikramjit, who hails from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, has represented India in the Under-19 and U-23 age groups.
As for Bagan, the pressure is piling up on coach Sankarlal Chakraborty to quickly address the defensive woes. Apart from conceding two against NEROCA due to the loss in concentration during set-pieces, Bagan let slip three goals in their defeats to East Bengal and Churchill Brothers.
The 0-3 defeat to Churchill at home should have served as a warning to Chakraborty but it's only now that the team is acting on it with the signing of Bikramjit.
