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Mohun Bagan still haven’t confirmed their fourth foreigner for the 2013-14 season, but they have been linked with several names. One player who has been rumoured to join the green-and-maroon brigade for several weeks now is Liberian striker Edward Junior Wilson, who is currently playing for Indonesian champions Semen Padang.
Wilson has netted nine goals in six AFC Cup matches so far and also scored eight times in the domestic league. He was seen in action against Churchill Brothers in an AFC Cup group stage game, where he bagged a brace to inspire Semen Padang to a 3-1 victory.
A few weeks back, Wilson was the favourite to become Mohun Bagan’s fourth foreigner according to the local language media in Bengal, until the Kolkata club reportedly found out that his salary demands are quite high. The Indonesian league is currently having a break because of Ramadan but will resume in August and continue till November so Padang were never likely to release their top scorer.
And now Semeng Padang’s president director Erizal Anwar also informed Sportskeeda that any link-up between Wilson and Mohun Bagan has been only made by the media.
“We have only read and heard this through the news media. Mohun Bagan have never sent an official letter to our club about Wilson so whether we will release him or not isn’t something to be considered for now,” Anwar told Sportskeeda.
Semen Padang have drawn East Bengal in the AFC Cup quarter-finals and there will be a huge contrast in the preparations of the two sides, as the Indonesian club will be in the middle of the second phase of their domestic season. While for the red-and-gold brigade, it could be their first competitive match of the season and Anwar believes such a scenario has both an advantage and disadvantage for his team.
“The plus point is that we will remain in a competitive environment, but on the other hand the tight schedule will make it physically very difficult for us. However the coach (Jafri Sastra) will try to handle the problem,” Anwar stated.
Foreigners Available
Semen Padang were without any foreigners for their away match against Churchill Brothers in Pune, which ended 2-2, as the outstation players were unable to get a visa. The Indonesian club informed through their media officer Ronny John Suhatril that this time they made requests to the AIFF much earlier so that none of their foreigners miss out on the clash in Kolkata.
“This time we started processing much earlier and asked the AIFF to help us. We want to thank the Indian FA for already sending all the necessary documents and help us complete the procedure,” said Suhatril.
East Bengal will host Semen Padang in the first leg on September 17, with the return leg taking place on September 24.
