Kochi: Attacking midfielder Komal Thatal, who displayed exceptional dribbling skills in India’s opening match in the FIFA U-17 World Cup against the United States, has been linked with a move to Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters.
The promising youngster from Sikkim is currently without a team after being left out of Indian Arrows, a team consisting of national U-17 and U-19 players brought together by the All Indian Football Federation to compete in the I-League. Arrows started their campaign in the top-tier domestic football on a bright note by beating Chennai City FC 3-0 recently.
It is learned that ISL franchises ATK and FC Pune have shown interest to sign Komal, who grabbed eyeballs after scoring a spectacular solo goal against Brazil at the BRICS U-17 Football Cup in 2016.
I-League side Minerva Punjab FC too has approached him and guaranteed a minimum of 10-match game-time.
However, there were unconfirmed reports that Komal’s agent has formally conveyed his interest to the Kerala Blasters management. The Blasters management did not respond to the rumored move.
Earlier, Komal had rejected a contract offered by a second division club from Turkey.
Fallout with coach?
Indian Arrows are trained by Luis Norton De Matos, who was the coach of the U-17 side at the World Cup.
Komal got only one start in the World Cup, against USA, and was benched in the remaining two matches India played in the group stage.
The coach did not even consider him during the selection trials for Indian Arrows, formed to keep the national U-17 and U-19 squads together with an objective to qualify for the 2019 U-20 World Cup.
“Do you think Thatal, with his physique, can play and win duels vs Ghana and Colombia? That is the reason for his exclusion,” Matos was quoted as saying after mediapersons questioned his decision to leave out the youngster.
There were rumors that he had a fall-out with the coach which resulted in him warming the bench at the U-17 World Cup. The strained relationship with Matos eventually led to his exclusion from the Indian Arrows side as well, a source close to the player said.
However, Komal denied reports of rift with his former coach and said that it was his decision to not join Indian Arrows.
The blonde-headed winger, who had been one of the most promising players in the lead-up to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, would be open to any offer from Kerala Blasters, his agent said.
Are Blasters listening?
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