ATK Mohun Bagan have signed full-back Asish Rai and winger Ashique Kuruniyan ahead of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season, the club announced on Monday.
The southern club Bengaluru FC have completed the signing of ATK Mohun Bagan player Prabir Das on Monday. The 28-year-old defender has signed a three-year contract with the Blues.
The 23-year-old Rai has been an important player for the Hyderabad FC over the last two seasons and he played a crucial role in winning them their first-ever ISL title in the 2021-22 season. As for Ashique, he has been among the top performers for Bengaluru FC in the last few seasons.
Rai started his youth career in 2017 when he joined the Pune City Academy. The fullback then joined the Indian Arrows later in November. In the 2018-19 season, he made the most of his opportunities, appearing in every game for the Indian Arrows. Playing for Indian Arrows proved to be a watershed moment in his career, with solid performances throughout the season helping him to gain an ISL contract from Hyderabad FC ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Since joining the club, the 23-year-old fullback has appeared in 48 games, making 152 clearances and sixty-three interceptions.
Ashique began his career at the Pune FC academy and then he moved to Villarreal “C” team in Spain in 2016 on a loan. His stay in Europe was cut short due to injury, the Kerala-born winger returned home. He joined Pune City FC in 2017 and made his debut against Jamshedpur in the ISL 2017-18 season.
After spending two years at Pune City FC, the 23-year-old winger moved to Bengaluru FC in the 2019-2020 season. He has had an impressive stint with the club so far with a total of 39 appearances, making a staggering 1105 passes and 40 interceptions during this time.
After completing the formalities of his deal, Das said, “I am eager to play a big part in bringing back the success that this club is used to and I am grateful to the owners and management for showing faith in me, and for wanting me to be a part of their ambitions.”
(Inputs from IANS)