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ISL club ATK is set to sign Spanish midfielder Armando Sosa Pena, fondly known as Mandi. The former Wellington Phoenix player is most likely to be a replacement signing for Carl McHugh, who suffered an ankle injury in their game against Mumbai City FC.
Mandi is a defensive midfielder by trade and began his professional career in the third tier of Spain in 2007. He made the move to Real Madrid Castilla in 2010 and was a part of the squad that gained promotion to La Liga II in 2012. Incidentally, he also played under current East Bengal head coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia for one season.
The 30-year-old has 124 La Liga II appearances playing for the likes of Sporting Gijon, Elche, and UD Almeria. In 2018, he made the switch to A-League and signed for Wellington Phoenix on a one-year contract. He has been a free agent since his contract expired in July 2019.
He made 24 overall appearances which included 2 goals and 4 assists. Mandi's familiarity with playing alongside David Williams and Roy Krishna could come handy for the ISL table-toppers.
The duo has already taken the league by storm by scoring 10 goals in 7 matches. Mandi could become the third Wellington Phoenix player to don ATK's jersey.
The ISL transfer regulations allow a club to make a replacement signing outside the transfer window provided they don't exceed the salary cap and the player is a free agent. Kerala Blasters signed Raju Gaekwad and Vlatko Drobarov as a replacement for Sandesh Jhingan and Jairo Rodrigues, respectively, after the transfer window got closed.
ATK is currently on top of the points table in ISL having lost only one game. They next take on FC Goa on Saturday but it remains to be seen whether Mandi would be available for selection or not.
