Mohun Bagan are leading the table while Mohammedan SC are sticking at the bottom of the table as we are at the halfway stage of the 2024/25 ISL season. Young players getting promoted, new players taking the ISL by storm, coaches struggling and getting sacked, we have seen it all so far. But let’s take a look at what position these seven clubs must strengthen in the winter transfer window to have a strong second half of the season.
Punjab FC
Many people were surprised when Punjab FC opted to remove Staikos Vergetis, who guided them to the ISL and finished his first season there in a solid eighth position, only three points outside of the playoffs. But what a start Panagiotis Dilmperis has had in his Punjab career! The Shers began the season with four victories in five games, defeating Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC, and Odisha in that period.
However, they have failed to maintain the same level of performance since then, losing five of their past seven league games. Their performance has been strong in most games, but they haven’t been able to maintain their advantage or earn solid outcomes. With Mushanga Bakenga’s retirement and injuries to important players like Novoselec and Filip Mrzljak, their performance has undoubtedly declined, and they must act quickly to turn things around.
Bakenga’s departure does create a foreign berth where they may perhaps bring in someone and seek more goals. As Luka Majcen is now the only number nine available, an injury to him might worsen the Shers’ situation. With games coming thick and fast in the second part of the season, they must make sure they bring in a new striker as soon as possible and get him up to speed.
Mumbai City FC
If you had told anyone at the start of the season that ISL winners Mumbai City would be seventh in the league at the midway point, they would have laughed out loud. But that has been the reality for Petr Kratky’s side, who are now in the bottom half of the standings and struggling to score goals. Not many things are going their way right now.
The lack of end product from important players such as Chhangte, Bipin and Vikram is contributing to their offensive troubles. Injury to Jon Toral, Krouma, and Manzorro hasn’t helped matters either. While Lachenpa has been replaced by Rehenesh following a difficult run of games, there have been some positives, such as the emergence of Valpuia and Nathan, who have both looked good at fullback.
Midfield is one spot where they could improve. Jayesh Rane hasn’t been able to match his previous season’s performances. Brandon Fernandes is failing to find his feet while Toral has failed to adapt. Hitesh hasn’t played much, while Franklin is still getting accustomed to the league. A player like Abhishek from Mohun Bagan or Jiteshwor from Chennaiyin would be the ideal addition to provide them the much-needed stability they need in the middle of the park next to Van-Nieff or Manzorro when he returns.
Chennaiyin FC
Chennaiyin defied the odds to make the playoffs last year, despite being defeated in the quarterfinals. Better performances were anticipated from the Marina Machans this season due to major squad changes. But Owen Coyle’s team has been incredibly inconsistent and has ultimately fallen short of expectations.
Lack of concentration across the backline has led to them sitting ninth in the rankings. Although most of them have been decent, the club has maintained just two clean sheets in 14 games this season as a result of individual errors committed across a number of games.
While defense has been a concern, attack has been far worse. They haven’t scored in six of their 14 games thus far, and their foreign attackers, Daniel Chima and Wilmar Jordan, have been struggling lately. Chima has gone nine games without scoring, while Jordan has failed to score in nine of his thirteen appearances. While the chance of bringing in a new foreigner seems slim, Owen Coyle must make the courageous choice to replace Daniel Chima. Although replacing a foreign player with a two-year deal will be difficult, the Nigerian striker appears to be a shell of his former self in front of the goal.
Kerala Blasters FC
Replacing Ivan Vukomanovic was always going to be a challenging task for new head coach Mikael Stahre. It gets much harder when important players like Jeakson Singh are sold. Despite making a few notable additions like Noah, Jesus Jimenez, and Coeff, they’ve struggled this season and are currently 10th in the league, having lost seven of their previous nine games.
Concerns doesn’t stop there; they have sacked their head coach Mikael Stahre with Tomasz Tchorz and TG Purushothaman taking over the realms on interim basis. The most concerning part is it has been more than two weeks since Stahre was sacked, and the club is yet to finalize their head coach. Would they have been better if they had kept Stahre at least until they finalize their replacement? Only time can answer this question.
Goalkeeping have been their major concern this season. Sachin Suresh looks very low on confidence and has made a couple of errors directly leading to goals. His mistakes have impacted the outcome of the game in certain games this season. Som Kumar was also given a chance, but he looked like he’s not yet ready for ISL making a couple of rash decisions. The club must be looking to bring in someone with a bit more experience, at least for the remainder of the season.
East Bengal FC
Following their successful summer transfer window, which saw them recruit huge players like Diamantakos, Talal, Anwar Ali, and Jeakson Singh as well as a few talented young players like Zothunpia and David, East Bengal and Carles Cuadrat seemed bound for more success this season. However, Carles Cuadrat’s terrible start to the season resulted to his dismissal, and Oscar Bruzon has taken over the position.
Since Bruzon joined, the team has made significant progress and appears to be a stronger team than it was at the beginning of the season. After an excellent showing in the AFC Challenge league, the team advanced to the next round. However, they have recently been struggling with injuries. Saul Crespo, Yuste, Rakip, Zothunpia, and Nishu Kumar have all had injuries in the past several months.
But the most critical injury for them is Madih Talal’s. Due to an ACL injury, the French midfielder will not play this season. It will be critical for the team to bring in a creative midfielder capable of extracting the most from Diamantakos and Cleiton Silva. Indian fullbacks are also something they should attempt to recruit if possible.
Hyderabad FC
Despite all of the uncertainties surrounding Hyderabad FC’s participation in this season’s ISL, the club was able to identify the appropriate investors in time and put together a decent roster to compete. While things have improved from last season, they are still struggling and unable to get results. They recently fired head coach Thangboi Singto, and Shameel has taken control on an interim basis.
This season, they had their moments, defeating Blasters in Kaloor, salvaging a draw against Chennaiyin at home, and winning against Mohammedan. However, the team’s inexperience and a lack of goals from the strikers have been the main issues this season. This season, they have scored the second-lowest number of goals in the league (10), while giving up the most goals (29).
They must be aiming for a right-back, but it’s very hard to pinpoint one spot where the team has to concentrate and bolster. Despite trying Rafi and Leander there, they haven’t been able to come up with a long-term solution. Rabeeh recently played there against Mohun Bagan. In order to find someone who can establish himself permanently, they must use the market. They must be trying to fill the last foreign player spot and target a midfield player in addition to a right-back.
Mohammedan SC
Promoted to the ISL after winning the I-League, it was always going to be difficult for the Kolkata side to adjust to the league’s speed and standards in their inaugural season. However, they have failed horribly, sitting at the bottom of the league with only one win over Chennaiyin FC in 13 games this season. Andrey Chernyshov has said on several occasions that a lack of quality is the primary cause of poor results.
The team lost leading scorer Eddie Hernandez and Indian sensation David Lalhlansanga prior to the season. Furthermore, several of their acquisitions, notably their seemingly mediocre international attackers, fell short of expectations. Franca and Manzoki have combined for one goal this season, demonstrating why they are the league’s lowest club in terms of goal scoring (5).
They desperately need someone who can score goals. They have strengthened their attack with the signing of Manvir Singh from Jamshedpur FC. However, that won’t be sufficient. They need a goal-scoring foreign striker up front. They must release either Manzoki or Franca to strengthen their attack. A midfielder to accompany Kasimov should also be considered, as Jiteshwor Singh has been linked with a potential transfer.
Follow Footy India on Instagram and X for more updates on Indian Football.
Footy India 