While it was on Tuesday that Mumbai City FC forward Sony Norde confirmed that he will be donning the Mohun Bagan jersey for the ongoing edition of the I-League, arch-rivals East Bengal, without any delay, struck a deal with Chennaiyin FC star defender Bernard Mendy.
Reports suggest that Mendy has agreed to a deal with Kingfisher East Bengal Club and will be sporting their Red and Gold jersey soon. The club has already sent all the visa related documents.
The 34-year-old, who has played for big European clubs like Paris-Saint Germain, Hull City and Bolton Wanderers, will now join the likes of Do Dong Hyun, Arnab Mondal and others. He has also played for the France national side and has made four international appearences between 2004 and 2006.
The Frenchman impressed everybody with his defending skills in the last two editions of the Indian Super League (ISL) for Chennaiyin FC. He also has the knack of scoring that odd goal when the team needs him to do so as he has done it so many times for the defending champions of the ISL.
"We have struck a deal with Mendy . The agreement has been signed accordingly and we have sent the required papers for his visa . He will join us shortly once he gets his visa," Kingfisher East Bengal club secretary Santosh Bhattacharya was quoted as saying by Xtra Time.
The club was supposed to sign Ghanaian footballer Bright Lukeman but the player turned down the offer at the last moment.
"We announced the name of Lukeman only after getting his confirmation . As far as Mendy is concerned , we are confident about his arrival . A final announcement will be made only after he reaches Kolkata," Bhattacharya said on Tuesday.
The addition of Mendy to the Red and Gold brigade will solidify their defense further as they already have the likes of Nigerian Bello Rassaq , Arnab Mondal , Gurwinder Singh and Babu Mondal. It will be interesting to see whether Mendy can guide Kingfisher East Bengal to their first I-League victory in 12 years.
Mendy will be East Bengal's fourth foreigner signing after South Korean midfielder Do Dong-hyun, Nigerian striker Ranti Martins and Nigerian defender Bello Rasaq.