I-League 2020-21: East Bengal sign ATK FC midfielder

Midfielder Sehnaj Singh, who recently won the Indian Super League (ISL) title with ATK FC, has signed a two-year deal which will see him move to cross-city rivals East Bengal, The Bridge can confirm.

Sehnaj started his career at Pailan Arrows before moving to Mumbai for a couple of years. His first big break came when he joined Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan in 2014, where he became a regular starter. The defensive medio, who is known for doing the dirty work in the middle of the park, featured in the ISL, as well, for Delhi Dynamos and Mumbai City FC.

He also enjoyed a brief stint at East Bengal in between and came back to Bagan on loan. However, before the start of the recently concluded ISL, Sehnaj had moved to ATK. While his team did not disappoint and went on to lift their third title, the 26-year-old made only eight appearances, mostly as second half substitutes and failed to make an impact.

East Bengal have been in touch with him for a few weeks, and finally Sehnaj has put pen to paper and agreed to join the Red and Golds, as per our sources. Interestingly, he becomes the second player to have made the switch from ATK to East Bengal ahead of the upcoming season. Indian national team forward Balwant Singh had earlier signed for the century-old club.

In fact, East Bengal have been quite active in this period when football has virtually come to a standstill due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Apart from Sehnaj and Balwant, they have also roped in Indo-Iranian winger Omid Singh, Mohamed Irshad, Bikramjit Singh, Gurtej Singh and Lalramchullova.

Also read: What can East Bengal fans expect from Indo-Iranian winger Omid Singh?

The club’s activity has certainly not gone unnoticed among Indian football fans and speculation is rife that East Bengal might feature in the ISL next season. As reported, talks have been held between the representatives of the club and American consumer goods company Procter and Gamble over a potential investment.