Over the past few days, I-League giants East Bengal have been making the big noises with their marquee appointment of Khalid Jamil as the club's head coach. However, that hasn't stopped the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs from carrying out their own deals. Here is a quick round-up of the latest ISL happenings.
Kerala Blasters could be set to welcome back Josu Currais into their fold for the upcoming season of the ISL. Josu played for Kerala Blasters in the last two ISL campaigns and is a firm favourite among the club's faithful.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, who currently plies his trade at USL outfit FC Cincinnati, put out a series of tweets yesterday in reply to a Blasters fan that suggested the left-side versatile player will be back to India in time for ISL 4.
Josu made 25 appearances in two ISL seasons for Kerala Blasters, chipping in with a goal and six assists. More than his end product, it is his tenacious style of football that has endeared the ex-Barcelona youth product to the Blasters’ faithful, and it seems he will be re-signed by the Kochi outfit ahead of the 2017/18 season.
Dynamos sign big partnership
Elsewhere, Delhi Dynamos have set about strengthening the club from bottom up as they have penned a technical partnership with the Qatar-based Aspire Academy.
A statement on the club's official website read: "Delhi Dynamos FC, today signed a ground-breaking technical partnership with Aspire Academy that will see the world-renowned Doha-based academy share its football knowhow and management expertise (including coaching, training, scouting and sports science) with the Delhi-based club in their pursuit of success on the pitch."
As part of the partnership, there will be movement of players and coaches to and from the ISL club to the academy based out of Doha. Aspire Academy will send coaches, talent scouts and analysts to Delhi, while the cream of the Dynamos’ residential youth setup will have a chance to play and train at Aspire Academy, whose facilities are used regularly by top clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Aspire Academy's Director General Ivan Bravo outlined the plans for the academy that led to the signing of the deal with Delhi Dynamos: “We’re confident Aspire Academy can help Indian football develop the vast talent available in the country and aid the growth of a competitive league that makes an impact on a global stage.”
This partnership is the first step in the state of Qatar's quest to penetrate the Indian football market and harness its potential.
