ISL season 10: Top five emerging players

The tenth season of the Indian Super League has come to an end as Mumbai City FC claimed the ISL trophy after an impressive 3-1 victory over Mohun Bagan SG at Salt Lake Stadium on April 4th. This marks the conclusion of an exciting season that showcased high-intensity football throughout.

This season also introduced many newcomers to the Indian football landscape, who demonstrated promising potential for the future. With the ISL entering its tenth season, a transitional phase is on the horizon as established players gradually pass the torch to emerging talents.

Here, The Bridge shines a spotlight on some of these emerging stars from ISL Season 10:

Vikram Partap Singh  - Mumbai City FC

Vikram Partap Singh won the Emerging Player of the Year award after his tremendous season for the ISL Cup champions. He is one of the key stars for his club this season and showcased some excellent goal-scoring form.

This was his fourth season for The Islanders, but this season proved to be a breakthrough one for him, where he scored a total of 8 goals and provided 4 assists as well. This was his first season in the ISL where he played more than 1000 minutes on the pitch.

This 22-year-old boy from Punjab is the only Indian player who scored a hat-trick this season. His superb form has also helped him gain the maiden call-up to the Indian national team for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Jay Gupta - FC Goa

One of the surprises of the season has been the wonder boy of FC Goa, who made his debut in the Indian Super League this season but proved himself as a regular starter in Goa's Playing XI from the beginning.

The 22-year-old full-back has played an important role for the club this season, not just in the defensive set-up but also posing a significant threat going forward in attack. He scored two goals this season, both of which were among the top goals of the season.

Jay Gupta has created 30 goal-scoring chances for the Gaurs, which is more than any other top fullbacks in the league this season. He also had the highest number of successful passes (825) among all the Indian players of FC Goa.

Isak Vanlaruatfela - Odisha FC

Isak has demonstrated himself as one of the best-attacking players this season, making a huge impact in Odisha FC's powerful attacking lineup. He participated in 24 matches for the club and contributed seven goal-scoring contributions, which included four goals and three assists.

The 22-year-old Mizo boy has provided numerous fiery crosses to the explosive forwards of the Kalinga Warriors like Diego Mauricio and Roy Krishna. He was a key member of Odisha's debut campaign at the AFC Cup, where he scored two crucial goals for his club.

He also loves to take shots whenever he finds an opportunity, having taken the most number of shots (37) for his club. He boasts an almost 50 percent success rate, finding the target on 18 of his 37 shots this season.

Vibin Mohanan - Kerala Blasters FC

Vibin Mohanan has leaped the senior team of Kerala Blasters FC this season following some stellar performances in the junior teams in previous years. He quickly asserted his presence in the team and became an integral part of the midfield for the club.

In 18 matches this season, he also notched his first career goal in the ISL in a match against Mohun Bagan SG. He made a significant impact in the attacking play, creating as many as 13 chances for the forwards.

The 21-year-old local favorite has completed the most number of successful passes (652) for Kerala Blasters. However, his season was cut short due to an unfortunate 50-day injury break, but he still left a positive impact on the team.

During his absence, the club's performance suffered as they lost five consecutive matches, including both Super Cup and ISL matches.

Parthib Gogoi - Northeast United FC

Parthib Gogoi has been a consistent performer in the ISL since joining hands with Northeast United FC in 2022, but this season he elevated his performance to a new level and emerged as the key forward for the club for a major part of the season, despite a short injury layoff.

He is the highest goal-scorer for the Highlanders this season, contributing nine goals (5 goals and 4 assists). He was also instrumental in Northeast United's semi-final run at the Durand Cup 2023, where he scored 4 goals.

He had an outstanding start to the season for the club, scoring goals in the first three consecutive matches. However, he couldn't maintain his consistency during the middle phase of the league.

A few more young players showed some good performance in the later half of the season like Mohammed Sanan of Jamshedpur FC and Abhishek Suryavanshi of Mohun Bagan SG. These players will be the ones to watch out for the coming seasons of ISL.