ISL: Chennaiyin FC set to sign ex-Jamshedpur FC man Memo Moura

Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions Chennaiyin FC are set to sign former Jamshedpur FC man Memo Moura ahead of the upcoming season, The Bridge can confirm. Terms have been agreed which means we will see the Brazilian feature in the ISL for the fifth season.

Memo will become the second new foreign signing for Chennayin before the start of the seventh season of the ISL after Enes Sipovic.

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The defensive medio, who can double up as a defender, was a crucial part of the Men of Steel over the last three seasons. However, he announced his departure from the club in an emotional social media post as Jamshedpur looked to rebuild.

Chennaiyin, for a long time, thought they would not have a lot of things to worry about — especially, after spectacularly turning around last season from a position of no contention to ending up as the runners-up. But head coach Owen Coyle, the man responsible for the turnaround, was lured away by Jamshedpur and soon top Nerijus Valskis also followed suit.

The 32-year-old Brazilian comes in with lots of ISL experience having made his ISL debut for Delhi Dynamos FC back in 2016. He joined Jamshedpur before the start of the 2017-18 campaign. For the Red Miners, he turned out to be a crucial cog in their midfield. He was an inextricable part of the Jamshedpur setup, featuring in every game for them, missing only 84 minutes of action.

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Memo has all-round ability, when either playing as a centre-back or later as a defensive midfielder, something that new coach Csaba Laszlo had been looking at. After retaining Rafael Crivellaro and Eli Sabia from last season, and having roped in Sipovic in the window, a versatile player was next on the list for Chennaiyin and that’s where Memo fit in.

Chennayin still need to sign at least two more foreigners, one of whom has to be an Asian, and a forward should be a top priority at the moment. With the season fast approaching, the club is definitely making moves in the market and more signings are expected in the coming days.