ATK Mohun Bagan have a lot of talented players in their squad. One of them is Dheeraj Singh. The 20-year-old goalkeeper from Manipur is one of the brightest young players in India.
However, the promising young lad is not having a good amount of playtime at the club. So he might be heading out from the Kolkata giants in order to get more playing time.
Profile of Dheeraj Singh:
The 20-year-old goalkeeper from Manipur is one of the highly-rated players playing in India. He has played for Indian Arrows previously in the I-League and kept two clean-sheets in six games. Then he moved to Kerala Blasters and played 13 ISL games for them.
He kept for clean sheets out of those 13 games. Then he switched to ATK Mohun Bagan in 2019 and featured only once for them in a 2-2 draw against Bengaluru FC. He also played all three games of India at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, India in 2017.
Dheeraj Singh is Linked with a Loan Move to Real Kashmir
Dheeraj is not the number one goalkeeper in ATK Mohun Bagan at the moment although he wears the number 1 on his back. Arindam Bhattacharya is currently the number one at the club and his brilliant performance in the ongoing Indian Super League season has seen him leading the charts for the golden glove.
This clearly implies that the U-17 World Cup player has very slim chances of getting into the first team unless Arindam suffers an injury or receives a suspension.
Now, the young goalkeeper is a valuable asset for the Mariners. They would try everything to keep him to the club. But it is also necessary that Dheeraj gets enough playing time, as it will help him improve further. So one option is to loan him out to an I-League team. There he will have a clearer chance of getting into their first team.
The current IFA Shield holders Real Kashmir FC has emerged as a possible destination for the young player. The player was also linked with Jamshedpur FC and SC East Bengal the last summer. But currently, a transfer to any ISL side would not serve the purpose. So it is more likely that Dheeraj could join Real Kashmir.
However, Mohun Bagan might be reluctant to let the Manipuri leave at this crucial stage of the season. The former Indian Arrows player is a very good goalkeeper nonetheless and is the primary back-up behind Arindam.
Also, they are fighting for the top spot against a very strong Mumbai City FC side, so depth in the squad is very much required at this stage. And the congested fixture list may impact players’ health and performance, so it will be a problem for the Mariners if they let Dheeraj leave.
Our Take:
Dheeraj Singh is certainly a very talented player, but he has a lot to improve in order to solidify his place as an ISL team’s main goalkeeper. Also at this age, he should be playing more to improve. So a loan move may be good for him at this moment.
