Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC has completed the signing of Indian midfielder and former Odisha FC captain, Vinit Rai, on a permanent transfer, the club announced on Saturday.
“Mumbai City FC is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Vinit Rai following his loan spell,” an official club statement read, “The 25-year-old midfielder extends his stay at the Club after putting pen to paper on a one-year contract with the Islanders.”
The Assam-born midfielder initially joined the Islanders in January 2022 on loan from Odisha FC and made 14 appearances for the club across all competitions, including the 2022 AFC Champions League.
The Islanders finished second in Group B and also became the first Indian club to register wins in Asia’s premier club competition.
MCFC then loaned Vinit for another year, with the midfielder continuing with the Islanders for the 2022-23 season.
ALSO READ: ISL: Mumbai City FC signs Akash Mishra from Hyderabad FC
“I am thrilled to extend my journey with Mumbai City for another year. The learning and experiences I’ve had in my time here have helped me grow a lot,” Rai said.
“Coach Des (Buckingham), his staff and everyone here has supported me wholeheartedly and I am determined to help the club achieve success just like we did last season.”
Vinit played an influential role in the Islanders’ record-breaking ISL Shield win, featuring 11 times and scoring two spectacular goals against Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United FC.
A product of the Tata Football Academy, Vinit started his ISL career in 2016 and has played a total of 90 league games so far, featuring for Kerala Blasters, now defunct Delhi Dynamos, and Odisha FC before joining the Islanders.
Buckingham, the head coach of MCFC, said, “Vinit has shown his qualities with us over the past two seasons and will be an important player for us going into next season. He has been patient and worked extremely hard and learned how we want him to play and is an extremely positive player in our environment.”
Comments
SHARE