With an aim to strengthen their back line, Sporting Clube de Goa has completed the signing of defender Sandesh Jinghan after the transfer was given the green signal by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday afternoon.

Having practiced with the club for the past few days, Sandesh has flown with the team to Mumbai, where the Flaming Oranje will meet Sandesh’s former club Mumbai FC on Sunday.

The 21 year old was a revelation in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) for Kerala Blasters FC, where he was named as the Emerging Player of the Tournament.

Despite getting many offers from other clubs including in Europe, Sandesh decided to sign for Sporting Goa as he was wanted to join an ambitious club. “After receiving a lot of interest from many respected clubs, I decided to join Sporting Clube de Goa as I wanted to align with their ambitious vision,” explained Sandesh.

“I also have a lot of friends at the club,” added Sandesh, referring to the Sporting Goa players he met while part of the India U-23 national team last year.

Standing 6 feet 2, the tall defender started his professional career with United Sikkim where he helped the team get promoted to the I-League, along with Baichung Bhutia and company in 2012.

The same year he managed to score United Sikkim’s only goal in a 1-2 loss to Sporting Goa in the I-League, which registered his name in the club’s scouting database. He later moved on to Mumbai FC, before joining the Kerala Blasters.