The exodus of players from Hyderabad FC continued as Indian national team full-back Nikhil Poojary joined Bengaluru FC, the Indian Super League (ISL) club said on Wednesday.
He will join three of his former teammates from HFC, Chinglensana Singh, Halicharan Narzary and Rohit Danu, with Chinglensana joining the Blues a few days ago.
Poojary recently played in the AFC Asian Cup, where he started two of there matches and came off the bench in the third, against Syria, as India made an early exit from the tournament, after the group stage.
“I am delighted at joining a club that has set the benchmark in Indian football on so many fronts, in just ten years of its existence. I did have a few offers to choose from, but the BCF project and the way they want to go about things is what made the decision easier for me. I had extensive chats with the management and the coach, and I feel this club is where I can help create an impact, and build on my potential,” Poojary said.
“I have come up against BFC on many occasions in the past, and have always admired the atmosphere the fans bring to the Kanteerava. It’s going to be nice to play for, and in front of them.”
Hyderabad is facing severe financial crisis and is unable to pay wages to most of its players, forcing most to leave the club mid-season. That list includes Indian players such as Chinglensana, Poojary, Nim Dorjee, overseas players like Felipe Amorim, Oswaldo Alanis, Joe Knowles and Petteri Pennanen and their head coach Conor Nestor.
Born in Karnataka, Poojari spent most of his youth career at clubs in Mumbai, before signing for East Bengal in what would be his first senior move. He then spent a season with Pune City FC and followed it with a move to Hyderabad FC, with whom he became ISL champion in the 2021-22 season.
The Blues haven’t had the best of starts to the season, and coach Gerard Zaragoza believes that Poojary’s experience and versatility will help bolster Bengaluru’s push.
“In signing Nikhil, we are signing experience and quality. Our focus this January window was to add quality Indian defenders to the squad and I believe we have managed to do that well. Nikhil is an offensive right-back who will help us a lot in attack, and his experience will be crucial in all the defensive demands that we have from our players.”
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