Eugeneson Lyngdoh is one of the biggest stars in India football. It had a bearing on Lyngdoh's price tag at the ISL 2017 Players draft on Sunday.
Given his class and the success in the domestic circuit, the Indian international was one of the most sought after players. It was Atletico de Kolkata, renamed as ATK, that proved to be lucky in getting the star midfielder.
Why lucky?
Lyngdoh, despite having a huge price tag of 1.10 crores, was reported to be on the radar of many teams. And why not? His quality in the midfield makes him one of the best amongst the current crop of Indian players.
So, there was a feeling that the Shillong-born player will be one of the first names to be picked up by either Jamshedpur FC or Delhi Dynamos, who were the only two teams in the first round of picks. None of the teams went for him.
There was an element of surprise when teams in Round two also ignored the player. Was it due to his tag of Rs 1.10 crores? One has to remember the teams have a budget to work around with as well.
Atletico de Kolkata, who were the eighth pick in round three, looked eager to get the player of their choice, which was Lyngdoh after none of the teams before went for him.
So, when the time came for ATK, they went in for a quality midfielder, who will definitely be one of the star players of the franchise in the fourth edition of the ISL.
However, Kerala Blasters were also eager to sign Lyngdoh so they challenged ATK's pick. Later, Kerala Blasters signed Rino Anto as their first draft pick.
Lyngdoh's association with ATK also means it will be reunion time for the midfielder with his former Bengaluru FC coach, Ashley Westwood, who is the director of football at ATK.
