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What's the story?
It's been known for a while that Arnab Mondal would stay at East Bengal instead of joining the Indian Super League club ATK, and that has been sealed now after the defender put pen to paper on a new contract with the Red and Golds earlier today.
Mondal signed on the dotted lines at the Indian Football Association (IFA) office in the presence of officials from the association as well as the club.
The context
Mondal is a defensive stalwart who has been part of quite a few title-winning teams in the past. The central defender was expected to be part of the ISL draft as soon as the Indian season ended with May's Federation Cup but stayed put at the club he joined in 2012. He has been training with East Bengal in their pre-season camp, where new head coach Khalid Jamil has had a good look at his players before the Calcutta Football League kicks off next month.
The heart of the matter
It was quite a surprise when Mondal didn't participate in the ISL domestic draft, once again proving that the 27-year-old from Behala values loyalty more than money. Mondal has won two ISL titles with ATK, the latest of which was won last year as he marshalled the Kolkata club's defence expertly.
With Mondal staying put, East Bengal now have a good crop of experienced and young defenders that include the Trinidadian Carlyle Mitchell, Gurwinder Singh, Mondal, Salam Ranjan Singh, Gabriel Fernandes, Lalramchullova, Rahul Ghosh and Mehtab Singh.
By the looks of things, Jamil has a group of solid defenders in his hands to compete for both the CFL and the I-League title in the forthcoming se.
What's next?
The Calcutta Football League will kick start on 7th August and East Bengal will look to add to their tally of seven straight title wins this year. With Mondal's future sorted, Jamil has a captain who is motivated ahead of the new campaign.
Author's take
Mondal was a big miss in the ISL draft as his experience and defensive nous would have added to any ISL franchise. However, the ISL's loss is East Bengal's gain as Jamil eyes back-to-back I-League title wins next season.
With Mondal leading the side, East Bengal can rest assured that there will be far lesser moments of panic at the back. The Red and Golds' retention of a crowd favourite signals the club and their head coach Jamil's intentions of not letting up despite the challenge from ISL clubs and their endless pockets.
