Bengaluru FC announced the signing of promising young defender Salam Ranjan Singh, on loan from Pune FC.
“We have signed a competitive central defender who, we believe, has all the attributes to become a solid reliable defender and one that we can develop to strengthen our squad to make competition for places even tougher. He’s a good lad with a good attitude and the type of player we want at our professional club,” said Blues’ Head Coach Ashley Westwood.
Ranjan was part of the Pune FC side that won two back-to-back U-20 I-League titles in 2012 and 2013. A versatile player who can fill in at full-back positions, despite his young age, Ranjan has a few I-League games under his belt with Pune FC.
The 19-year-old has traveled with the Blues to Pune, where he could be in for a look as they face his parent club in the DSK Invitational Cup. Assistant Coach Pradhyum Reddy, who will be at the helm of things for this tournament, felt that Ranjan would flourish under Westwood’s guidance.
“We’ve tracked Ranjan for a long time and I’ve seen him for the last five or six years while I was coaching in Pune and later with Shillong Lajong. It’s a position that needed addressing at the club and with Ashley’s experience as a centre-half and with his coaching, we can hopefully develop Ranjan into a player who can complement the national team’s back four,” said Reddy.
With just one training session under his belt, Ranjan has already expressed his desire to make an appearance for the Blues. “I’m really happy to have signed with Bengaluru FC. I feel it’s the right place for me as the club have a very professional set up. It’s very different here as all the training happens with the ball at my feet and I can’t wait to start playing,” Ranjan said following the move.
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