Tata Steel-owned franchise to get first preference in picking its squad
Lyngdoh, Anas set to be top picks
Jamshedpur, July 22: The Sunday�s Hero Indian Super League 2017-18 Indian Player Draft promises to be an exciting affair as the footballing minds of the ten ISL Clubs would put their strategy into action in a bid to seek signatures of some of the best domestic players.
All ten ISL clubs have completed their respective international head coach signings. Assisted by the Indian coaches, the Head Coach will represent their respective clubs at the team table at the ISL Player Drafts 2017.
10 teams will choose players for their squad from a pool of more than 200 players for the next season of the Indian Super League, in the player draft scheduled for Sunday. Two new teams are included for participation in the league next season onwards, and one of them – Jamshedpur FC – will get first preference in picking its squad when the draft, consisting of 15 rounds, gets underway in a phased manner.
Jamshedpur FC will seek to buy the best Indians on offer for the ISL season four which will be starting in November as a five-month long league.
India international midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and defender Anas Edathodika would be among the most sought after ones when more than 200 footballers go under the hammer during the Indian Super League Players Draft.
Both Lyngdoh and Anas, who were released by FC Pune City and Delhi Daynamos respectively, have been kept at the base price of ? 1.10 crores each, according to sources.
Other players in the top price bracket include goalkeeper Subrata Paul (? 87 lakhs), Pritam Kotal (? 75 lakhs), Robin Singh (? 65 lakhs) and Arindam Bhattacharya (? 64 lakhs).
Top players like Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua, C K Vineeth and Sandesh Jhingan will not be up for grabs as they have been retained by their respective clubs.
New in ISL but not new to Indian football, the Tata Steel owned club probably has the best knowledge of Indian player talents considering their legacy of nurturing and producing players for decades. Coached by an experienced Steve Coppell, Jamshedpur FC have the opportunity to pick first in the first two round, and are likely to go for central defender and a goalkeeper immediately. Coppell might also bring in his tried and tested international players who were part of Kerala Blasters previous season. This club is to watch out for.
The ISL mandate of maximum two player retention also ensured all clubs especially the new entrant Jamshedpur FC gets a level playing field.
Contrary to the notion, the Indian Player Draft 2017 has suddenly assumed importance as many top Indian International Players are now available for the �Super Sunday� signing.
ISL regulations allow clubs to have a minimum of 15 and maximum of 18 Indian players in the squad, including two mandatory Under-21 development players. The maximum squad size will be of 25 players and must contain a minimum of seven foreign players and 15 Indian players. This must also include at least two U-21 players (players born after January 1997).
