East Bengal Transfer Hit And Misses Ahead of Kolkata Derby

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The first Kolkata derby of the ISL 2023-24 season comes nearer and so does the closing of the winter transfer window. East Bengal have come into the spotlight with missed chances to seal the deals on two important players.

Nikhil Poojary who was linked with East Bengal along with Mumbai City and Bengaluru FC, has chosen to join Bengaluru. After missing that chance, the Kolkata Giants also let go of their foreign striker Javier Siverio Toro.

As per reports, Nikhil Poojary was linked with East Bengal, Mumbai City FC, and Bengaluru FC for quite some time. However, it seems neither the Red and Gold Brigade nor the Islanders managed to convince the right-back to join.

East Bengal have been missing Harmanjot Khabra, who was moved to right back position by coach Carles Cuadrat, since the middle of September due to an injury. They have been managing with Nishu Kumar and Mohammad Rakip in Khabra’s absence. However, both of them have been inconsistent so far.

As their first match of the Indian Super League against Mohun Bagan is approaching, East Bengal start in eighth position in the table. Hence, the inclusion of Nikhil Poojary in the backline at this point would surely have helped them

Losing Borja Herera and Javier Siverio for Victor Vazquez

As per Times of India journalist, Marcus Mergulhao, Javier Siverio is on his way out of East Bengal in this transfer window. As per the journalist, the Spanish forward will move to Jamshedpur FC and will spend the rest of the season there.

Siverio joined East Bengal from Hyderabad FC at the start of this season. He featured in a total of 54 times and scored 16 times during that time. However, as he moved to Kolkata, Siverio is not having the best time.

He has not been able to impress since he came to East Bengal as he failed to score a single goal in ISL and was on the firing line for a while now. His departure is followed by the acquisition of the services of former FC Barcelona striker Victor Vazquez.

Meanwhile, midfielder Borja Herera left for FC Goa on loan before Siverio's departure and seems to be the biggest of the losses in the transfer window. The creative midfielder was not replaced with any new signing, suggesting that Victor's signing hits the transfer budget of the club.