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Jamshedpur FC has signed former La Liga player Francisco Medina Luna, fondly known as Piti, from Greek club PAS Lamia 1964 for the upcoming season of the ISL. The club announced the signing through social media.
The 38-year-old is primarily a winger but can play in the attacking midfield position as well. He is set to bolster Jamshedpur's attacking prospects which struggled in the previous season of the ISL. The Red Miners' ultra-defensive approach led them to nine draws, which resulted in them missing out on the playoffs.
Jamshedpur FC has already lost Michael Soosairaj, Dhanachandra Singh, and Jerry Mawihmingthanga to ATK, Mohun Bagan, and Delhi Dynamos respectively. Tim Cahill announced his retirement earlier and, Mario Arques is expected to pen the deal with Kerala Blasters.
To make inroads, they have announced the signing of Joyner Lourenco, Niraj Kumar, and Keegan Pereira from Mumbai City FC, Ozone FC, and Northeast United FC respectively.
Narender Gehlot, Jitendra Singh, and Isaac Vanmalsawma are expected to follow the suit whereas Tiri and Memo have already signed an extension that will keep them with Jamshedpur till the end of the season.
Coming to Piti, he started his career with Real Zaragoza B in the Segunda Division in the 2004-05 season and even made three appearances for their senior side in the La Liga. After playing for Ciudad Murcia and Hercules, he helped Rayo Vallecano achieve promotion in the 2010-11 season.
Piti continued his career with Vallecano in the La Liga for two seasons before shifting gears to Granada. Rayo Vallecano bought him back in the 2015-16 season in order to bolster their chances of surviving relegation. However, his efforts went in vain and Piti ventured outside Spain for the first time to sign with AEL Limassol in the Cypriot First Division.
Thereafter, he played for PAS Lamia 1964 and AE Larisa in the Greek Super League for two seasons. Piti's experience of playing 147 La Liga matches and scoring 29 goals in them will come handy for Jamshedpur FC. However, his fitness remains a question mark given his age.
