ISL: FC Goa set to rope in Spanish forward Igor Angulo

Indian Super League (ISL) shield winners FC Goa are set to rope in Spanish forward Igor Angulo, who plies his trade in Polish top tier, ahead of the upcoming campaign, The Bridge understands.

The club, which is set to become the first Indian club to feature in the AFC Champions League next season, is in a rebuiding stage right now after having to deal with sudden departures of coach Sergio Lobera and other crucial members who helped them set new benchmarks in Indian football.

FC Goa have beaten Kerala Blasters to complete the signing of Spanish forward Igor Angulo, announcement expected soon!

He is known for his goal-scoring prowess and can be the ideal replacement for Coro, if he retires.#IndianFootball #Transfers #HeroISL #DoneDeal

— Sagnik Kundu (@whynotkundu) July 21, 2020

With Ahmed Jahouh, Mourtada Fall, Mandar Rao Desai all following former coach Lobera to Mumbai, new coach Juan Ferrando and the Goa management have had their hands full. However, the possibility of star forward Ferran Corominas hanging up his boots has forced them to think in a new direction.

In such a scenario, Angulo emerged as a viable target, someone who could fit in easily into Goa’s philosophy. The former Atletico Bilbao forward, who can also play as a left winger, has been in prime form in Poland. He has been with Górnik Zabrze for the last four seasons, helping them to promotion to the Polish top tier.

In 114 appearances for Zabrze, he has scored 67 goals and notched up 14 assists. Last season itself, Angulo found the back of the net 16 times in 36 league matches. He was the top scorer of the Ekstraklasa in the 2018-19 season and the second highest scorer in the season before that. Clearly, there should be no doubts on his scoring prowess.

Until a few weeks back, Kerala Blasters were ahead in the race to sign Angulo whose contract with Górnik runs out this summer. In fact, a few others like Bengaluru FC had also shown interest initially. In the end, though, Goa will have the last laugh. The club aims to continue displaying the attacking brand of football that they are known for and Angulo could well be the perfect man to lead their charge this season.