ISL 2018: Chencho Gyeltshen's move to Bengaluru FC in question?

Earlier on Monday, Indian Super League runners-up and the winners of the inaugural edition of the Super Cup, Bengaluru FC, announced that they have managed to rope in Bhutanese winger Chencho Gyeltshen ahead of the upcoming season.

The 22-year-old, who had an incredible season at Minerva Punjab wherein he helped his club win the I-League, joined the Blues on a one-year contract and is their fifth foreign signing. The Bhutanese Ronaldo, as he is often called, had attracted the interest of many clubs including Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

However, despite Bengaluru announcing the signing (in the unique way that they always do), the move might actually be in question.

"Chencho has agreed to move to Bengaluru, he has always wanted to play in the ISL," Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj told Sportskeeda. But he added, "However, Bengaluru still need a NOC from us and they haven't yet asked for it. That's how it works."

It has been learnt that to obtain a NOC, Bengaluru will have to pay a transfer fee to the Chandigarh-based club. Chencho had a one-year contract (with an option for a two-year extension), which ran out on 1st June 2018, at Minerva.

The contract also stipulates that a fee needs to be paid if the player joins any club after his contract is over. It is unclear if it is the player or the club who will have to pay the fee. In such a scenario, complications may arise.

A few weeks back, East Bengal were at the recieving end when they announced that they had signed five players from Minerva after which Bajaj had alleged that it was a 'complete lie'. Things could turn out ugly in this case as well but given that Minerva doesn't have a strained relationship with Bengaluru, there might be an amicable solution.