Kolkata : Kingfisher East Bengal have begun negotiating with Indian striker Jeje Lalpekhlua . Jeje who was instrumental in helping Mohun Bagan win the I league , had offers from Mohun Bagan as well . East Bengal who have also started talks with Bernard Mendy , will look to bolster their attack line by signing Jeje . The Red and Gold officials are also in talks with Dempo’s Narayan Das .Jeje have been delaying giving his final word to Mohun Bagan officials . Mohun Bagan coach Sanjay Sen was not happy with Jeje’s attitude . The Indian star striker have been in talks with Mohun Bagan for quite some time now . But he was not taking a final decision as he had offers from other clubs as well . According to Sanjay Sen ,“ Jeje must decide soon which club he wants to play for . The I league to due to start in a few days time and I have to plan accordingly . Sehnaj , who signed for East Bengal this season did have the courtesy to call and inform me about his move .”
Mohun Bagan has signed midfielder Brandon Fernandes, on loan from Mumbai City FC. Apart from playing in the wings, Brandon can also play in the central midfield position.
A product of Goa United Football Academy, Brandon joined Salgaocar where he played for their U-14, U-16 and U-19 team.He has also represented Indian National Team at different age levels . He had a brief 4-year stint at South Africa where he played for ASD Football Academy and ASD Cape Town.
After playing for Sporting Clube de Goa last year, Brandon signed contract with Mumbai City FC in the 2nd edition of the Indian Super League.
Brandon also had offers from Mumbai FC, East Bengal and DSK Shivajians chose to don the green and maroon jersey mainly because of his ambition to play in the AFC Cup/AFC Champions League . The midfielder will be arriving in Kolkata on Wednesday .
The Mohun Bagan coach expressed his relief about being communicated in advance, the change in venue for their first match in I League . The defending I league champions are due to kick start their campaign against debutants Aizwal FC at the Barasat Stadium .
Meanwhile , East Bengal will be leaving the city tomorrow to play their two away matches against Sporting Clube de Goa and Mumbai FC on January 10 and January 17 respectively . Coach Biswajit Bhattacharya have left out captain Gurwinder Singh ,Cavin Lobo , Soumik Dey and Avinash Ruidas from the squad . While Gurwinder and Lobo are still nursing their injury , Soumik and Ruidas will be busy playing for their office team CESC in an office tournament . Meanwhile , Indian defender Arnab Mondal have joined the club practice from today . East Bengal coach sounded optimistic about his team after the practice session , but checked himself from predicting the result . “ We want to play good football and our prime target will be to not lose the matches . ” commented Biswajit .
East Bengal have a poor record against it’s Goan opponents . On being asked whether Odafa will be a factor against his team , Biswajit sounded confident “ We are not worried about Odafa . They are a good side and are the champions of Goa Pro League . So we will respect them as a team .”
East Bengal coach and his team were wished by a fans club ahead of their I league campaign as they were presented Prasad from Dakhineshwar Kali temple .