Bengaluru FC signs English striker Curtis Main

Bengaluru FC, on Tuesday, announced the acquisition of English striker Curtis Main on a one-year deal, with an optional one-year extension, that currently runs through to the end of the 2023-24 season.

Main, who most recently turned out for St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership, began his youth career at Sunderland AFC and is a product of the Darlington FC Academy.

“I’m very excited and honored to be part of such a great club. I had a few conversations with the manager and I liked how they went. He has a great reputation and has thus far done an excellent job at the club and hopefully, I can come in and build on the success. I’m looking forward to joining the team, and getting started in front of the passionate fans that I’ve heard so much about,” said Main, after the completion of formalities on his deal.

Born in South Shields, Main became the youngest player to represent Darlington when he came off the bench in a League Two encounter against Peterborough at just 15 years and 318 days of age.

Stints at Middlesborough, Doncaster Rovers, and Portsmouth would follow with Main scoring five goals during his time at Fratton Park as Portsmouth gained promotion to League One in his first season. In 2018, Main made the move to Scotland with Motherwell.

“We’re delighted to sign Curtis, who is a player with a lot of experience in England and Scotland. He did very well last year for St Mirren and is a whole-hearted striker who works extremely hard for his team, has good hold-up play, and will be a valuable asset. He was desperate to come to India, despite having the opportunity to sign longer contracts in the UK as he wanted a new challenge. Bengaluru, as a city and a football club, really suited him and I’m sure he’ll contribute a lot of goals and assists while he’s here,” said Blues’ Head Coach Simon Grayson.

Main is Bengaluru’s second foreign signing of the window, with the Blues announcing the arrival of Montenegrin center-back Slavko Damjanovic earlier.