ISL: Transfer window for the clubs- A summary

With the Indian football's summer transfer window closing on Wednesday, all ISL clubs have begun making concrete preparations for the upcoming Indian Super League 2022-23 season which is scheduled to kick off on the 7th of October, and the first glimpses of most of the teams have already come to light with the ongoing Durand Cup.

Last season, the four-foreigner rule significantly impacted on-field trends, increasing the demand for talented Indian players. With only six spots available, teams will also have to make difficult decisions about foreigners.

We evaluated the summer transfer window for the clubs thus:

Mumbai City FC:

Best Indian Signing: Vinit Rai

Best Foreign Signing: Greg Stewart

Mumbai City Fc seems to have fared the best in the transfer window this time. When the Islanders announced the departure of six first-team players, it was evident that they were going for a rebuild. Although they pulled the greatest trick off their sleeve when they roped Jorge Peryera Diaz who was closer than ever to continue for Kerala Blasters and bringing in the best player of the last edition, Greg Stewart was the best move they have secured.

Kerala Blasters FC:

Best Indian Signing: Bidyasagar Singh

Best Foreign Signing: Dimitrios Dimantakos

Missing out on the league narrowly last season, Ivan Vukomanovic's Kerala Blasters went all out in the transfer window by bringing in an array of talented foreign individuals. However, with the quota of foreign players being limited, the Yellow Army did not sign enough Indian counterparts for the positions. Nonetheless, it would not be surprising to see them promoting their academy products to the senior team.

Emami East Bengal FC:

Best Indian Signing: Souvik Chakrabarti

Best Foreign Signing: Ivan Gonzalez

With very less time available to complete the team because of internal issues, East Bengal failed to secure a balanced squad. The lack of a good creative midfielder was evident as the team failed to create chances to score. However, Ivan Gonzalez was a source of light in a rather dull team, as he formed the heart of the Red and Gold defence.

ATK Mohun Bagan FC:

Best Indian Signing: Ashique Kuruniyan

Best Foreign Signing: Dimitri Petratos

As lively as Ashique Kuruniyan has been on the front, the absence of a prolific striker like Roy Krishna is felt in almost all the games. The wastefulness up front prevented the Mariners from securing all the points this season in the ongoing Durand Cup and seems to be something that can cause some complications in the upcoming games.

Chennaiyin FC:

Best Indian Signing: Sajal Bag

Best Foreign Signing: Kwame Karikari

The Marina Machans appear to be ready for anything, as they have increased squad depth by bringing in adaptable and quick youngsters. This will provide agility to the team in addition to the knowledge already brought in by players like Kwame and Fallou Diagne. The Indian duo of Sajal Bag and Anirudh Thapa has been a pleasure to watch at the same time. Chennaiyin FC seemed to have achieved the perfect balance of local and foreign players in terms of talent.

Odisha FC:

Best Indian Signing: Raynier Fernandes

Best Foreign Signing: Carlos Delagdo

Odisha FC had a shaky season last season, so the Kalinga Warriors went all out this season to build a balanced squad with a proper ratio of Indian players to that foreigners. Josep Gambau made a wise decision by bringing in tried-and-true foreigners alongside agile and experienced Indian players.

Jamshedpur FC:

Best Indian Signing: Muhammed Uvais

Best Foreign Signing: Jay Emmanuel Thomas

The defending ISL shield winners did not make a lot of changes in the squad. However, the void left by talisman Greg Stewart will be very difficult to fill.

Hyderabad FC:

Best Indian Signing: Alex Saji

Best Foreign Signing: Odei Onaindia

Manolo Marquez's decision to not make a lot of changes in the proven squad is fair as the defending ISL Champions prepare to hold their crown. Replacing Ashish Rai with young, agile Alex Saji was a very impactful move.

FC Goa:

Best Indian Signing: Ayush Dev Chhetri

Best Foreign Signing: Iker Guarrotxena

FC Goa has gone for a huge rebuild this season, bringing in former player Carlos Pena as the manager. However despite bringing in Alvaro Vasquez, having a prolific Indian striker would have helped the cause.

Bengaluru FC:

Best Indian Signing: Prabir Das

Best Foreign Signing: Roy Krishna

Bengaluru FC pulled off a major transfer as they brought in Roy Krishna right after the lethal scorer parted ways with the Mariners. As exciting as the duo of Sunil Chhetri and Roy is to watch, a presence of an able midfielder like Joni Kauko of ATKMB would have bolstered the creativity of the Blues in the attack.

NorthEast United FC:

Best Indian Signing: Emil Benny

Best Foreign Signing: Romain Philippoteaux

Starting late in the transfer window, the main shortcoming of the Highlanders will be not getting a balanced squad while the absence of Federico Gallego still provides a huge void in the squad,