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I-League side East Bengal FC have signed Md. Rafique Ali Sardar and Loken Meitei from ISL clubs Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters respectively. The club made the announcement through their social media handles on the same day as Mohun Bagan were declared champions of I-League.
Md. Rafique Ali Sardar is a goalkeeper by trade and made six appearances for Jamshedpur FC in the last two seasons. The 22-year-old graduated from the famed Tata Football Academy and played as a second choice goalkeeper behind Subrata Pal.
Loken Meitei, on the other hand, is a forward equally capable of playing across all the three positions up front. Having begun his career at Royal Wahingdoh, he was loaned to Shillong United and played in the Shillong Premier League.
After playing for Real Kashmir in I-League Second Division in the 2016-17 season, Mathei was selected by Kerala Blasters in the 2017-18 ISL Draft. After making six appearances in the season where the side finished sixth on the points table, he was demoted to their 'B' team where he made seven appearances over two seasons.
In the last season, Loken played for TRAU FC in I-League where he made five appearances.
East Bengal continue with aggressive signings
East Bengal are not at all slowing down in the transfer market to get on board the best domestic players after another dismal season in I-League. The announcement comes after the club officially announced the arrivals of Gurtej Singh, Novin Gurung, Lalramchullova, Balwant Singh, and Wahengbam Angousana Luwang.
Apart from these names, Bikash Jairu, Cavin Lobo, and Sehnaj Singh are the other domestic players rumoured to be joining East Bengal for the upcoming season. Apart from Omid Singh, the club hasn't signed any other foreigner so far.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic hitting most of the financial resources of clubs across the world and India hard, East Bengal have been very aggressive in the transfer market.
But, the biggest pressure on the club remains the desire of fans to make the transition to ISL after their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan merged with ATK and will play in the cash-rich league next season. Will they join the bandwagon as well? Only time will tell.
