Kolkata : Kingfisher East Bengal have decided to go all out in trying to sign Chennaiyin FC defender Bernard Mendy . Mendy , who have had an impressive show with the ISL champions , is believed to be in talks with the East Bengal officials . Earlier the club have almost reached an agreement with Ghanaian striker Bright Lukeman . But the footballer from Ghana backed out at the last minute leaving the East Bengal officials in dark .
Meanwhile defending I League champion Mohun Bagan and Kingfisher East Bengal will be jointly hosting the I league derby on January 23 . According to the federation it is mandatory for the clubs themselves to host their I league home matches . But it will be rare instance when both the rival clubs will be hosting the derby together . It was so decided after a meeting between the State sport minister Arup Biswas with the officials of both clubs . East Bengal officials Debabrata Sarkar , Rana Dasgupta along with Mohun Bagan assistant scretary Srinjoy Bose and finance secretary Debasis Dutta met the minister at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Tuesday evening . It was also decided apart from the derby and the AFC Champions League Qualifying match on January 27 , no other matches will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium , as the turf will be relaid for the FIFA U-17 World Cup . The minster also informed that FIFA officials will be coming down to Kolkata in September for an inspection .
After much hiatus East Bengal’s new recruit Sehnaj singh has finally played his first match in Red and Gold jersey. Sehnaj has joined the Kolkata side on a loan from Delhi Dynamos. The midfielder was part of the victorious SAFF squad .Sehnaj , who was released by defending I-league champion Mohun Bagan is out to prove his mettle for Kingfisher East Bengal club ,” I don’t play my game to answer Mohun Bagan officials . For me doing well for East Bengal is my priority. ”
Sehnaj will be joining his former teammate Bello Razzaq , who already have switched his allegiance to East Bengal from arch rivals Mohun Bagan .
Coach Biswajit Bhattacharya was very keen to check Sehnaj’s fitness. So he decided to play Sehnaj in the second half of the practice match against Bhawanipur . Goals from Ranty Martins and Sanju Pradhan helped East Bengal defeat Bhawanipur FC 2-1 in the match held at the East Bengal Ground. This is East Bengal’s last Practice match before they fly out to goa on 7thJanuary for their first match in I League against Sporting Clube de Goa. East Bengal will announce their final squad in a few days. Stopper Arnab Mondal who had injured himself during the SAFF cup will join the team tomorrow.
Sanju Pradhan , who will be returning to his former club after a gap of two years was quite nostalgic , “The atmosphere in the East Bengal dressing room is same as before. Nothing has changed. I wanted to return to East Bengal in the last season but for some reasons it couldn’t happen”. Sanju was also in the SAFF Cup champion side alongside Bikash Jairu who also joined today.
On being asked about Arnab Mondal’s injury East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharjee commented, ”In professional football there is no place of complaining. Arnab told me that his injury is nothing serious and there is nothing to be concerned about .”
East Bengal do not have a good track record against Sporting Clube de Goa. East Bengal defence will be tested by someone called Odafa Okolie . Can Biswajit Bhattacharya set the records straight against his Goan opponents , only time will say .