The former ATK Mohun Bagan full-back is all set to jump ship and join rivals East Bengal...
Full-back Ankit Mukherjee has mutually terminated his contract with ATK Mohun Bagan and is now all set to join rivals East Bengal on a free transfer.
The Mariners, on Tuesday, officially confirmed the separation of the club and the player. Their official statement read, "As per the mutual agreement, Ankit Mukherjee and the club have decided to part ways. We wish all the best in his career going forward."
The 24-year-old Bengali defender is now all set to join the Red and Golds on a free transfer for the remainder of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season.
East Bengal have already parted ways with nine domestic players who have been released from the squad on loan for the rest of the season. While defender Gurtej Singh and goalkeeper Rafique Ali Sardar have already joined Mohammedan Sporting on loan and will ply their trade with the Black Panthers in the upcoming 2020-21 season of the I-League, the future of the other seven players are yet to be decided.
Ankit Mukherjee, a graduate from East Bengal's youth system, started his professional career with Calcutta Football League (CFL) side Aryan FC where he spent two seasons before joining Mohammedan in 2017.
His impressive performance for the Black Panthers earned him his maiden ISL contract ahead of the 2018-19 season when he joined then ATK. Mukherjee appeared in nine matches in his debut season under coach Steve Coppell and had even scored a goal which came against erstwhile Delhi Dynamos. Last season, Mukherjee, got only three minutes of game time under coach Antonio Lopez Habas.
East Bengal have not had a great maiden ISL season so far as they are currently struggling at the bottom half of the league table with just three points in seven matches and are yet to register a win in the league.
The Red and Golds' defence has been a major concern for Robbie Fowler as they have been leaking goals on a regular basis. In the absence of quality full-backs in his squad, the Liverpool great has been forced to field Bikash Jairu and Surchandra Singh as makeshift backs who are predominantly wingers.