Indian national football team striker Jeje Lalpekhlua has signed for SC East Bengal, the club announced on Sunday.
Jeje, who was a free agent after departing Chennaiyin FC earlier this year, will play for red and gold half of Kolkata in the upcoming edition of the Indian Super League.
He has scored 94 goals in 251 appearances in Indian club football and his most prolific period came with east Bengal’s arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in the I-League between 2014 to 2017.
The Mizoram striker comes with plenty of experience having played over 50 matches for India scoring 23 international goals in the process.
“Every footballer in India wants to play for SC East Bengal one day. It is such a big institution. I am thrilled to join SC East Bengal in its first year of taking part in the ISL. I cannot wait to don the Red and Gold colours and give my best every time I take the field,” Jeje said after joining the club.
East Bengal will be coached by Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler and have already added Irish winger Anthony Pilkington and Welsh-Nigerian centre-forward Aaron Amadi-Holloway to the team.
SC East Bengal also announced the signing of Scottish defender Danny Fox and German midfielder Ville Matti Steinmann.
Fox, 34, is a veteran defender who has played for Burnley and Southampton in the English Premier League. A Coventry City star, Fox joins SC East Bengal from Wigan Athletic.
Fox joined Coventry City in the English Championship from Walsall in 2008, playing 57 league games and scoring six goals before being snapped up by Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. After his stints with Burnley and Southampton in the Premier League, he moved to Nottingham Forest in the Championship ahead of a move to Wigan.
“Having rubbed shoulders with the very best in the Premier League, I would be in a position to share my experience with the squad and the challenge of representing the best club in India motivates me no bounds,” Fox said.
“For the fans out there, we know your passion towards the club and we would go the yard to ensure the smiles are always intact,” Fox said.
German midfielder Matti Steinman also joins the red and gold brigade from A-League side Wellington Phoenix FC. The 25-year-old defensive midfielder has played in Bundesliga for Hamburger SV in the 2018-19 season.
“I am really looking forward to adding to the strength of SC East Bengal, which is already a top side in India.
“I have been doing a lot of reading on the club and football in India, and the project under Robbie excites me. I cannot wait to get going, for us and the millions of fans we have across the world,” Matti said.
The ISL will be played behind closed doors across three venues in Goa in November.
With PTI Inputs
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