Poor show forces East Bengal to focus on ‘youth development’

And the club officials appear to be in a tight position after team sponsor UB Group showed reluctance to approve the new proposals, which are going to be placed by the East Bengal management next week.

Smarting from a string of failures, the club’s top brass is reportedly giving importance to coach Bhattacharya’s advice, which is to start a new policy that underlines the emphasis on recruiting quality young players and to play them as much as possible in the Kolkata Premier League (KPL).

A senior club official told The Indian Express: “We are planning to follow Bhattacharya’s suggestion before the next season starts. We have already recruited five quality players from the Tata Football Academy (TFA). Efforts are also on to rope in a few more quality young players. And following the coach’s suggestion, we also want to play these young players in the KPL matches as much as possible so that the coach can spot at least three to four players competent in major tournaments like Federation Cup and I-League. But at the same time, we need to have quality foreign players who can make a lot of difference when it comes to results. Otherwise, it won’t be possible to win championships like I-League and Federation Cup.”

Taking a cue from this suggestion, the club is planning to make a key decision — that of releasing East Bengal’s anchorman and foreign striker Edmilson Marques Pardal this season.

It has been learnt that the Brazilian striker, who has lost his touch big time this season, has also verbally sought release order from the club, although his contract gets over next season.

Newly-signed Ghanaian attacking midfielder Abeku Gaisi, meanwhile, hasn’t quite impressed the club officials in his debut appearance against Mahindra United in the IFA Shield match yesterday.

It is learnt that if a quality midfielder cannot be tracked before the KPL starts this season, then Gaisi will be persisted with.