I-League 2017-18: Mixed fortunes for Indian Arrows as Dheeraj Singh quits, while Amarjit Singh extends contract

New Delhi: Indian Arrows captain Amarjit Singh on Sunday extended his contract till the end of 2019-20 season, giving the All India Football Federation’s developmental side a boost after the loss of goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh. Just like Dheeraj, who quit the I-League side to appear for a trial with Scottish Premier League side Motherwell FC, the contract of Amarjit also was to end today. But the Manipuri, who also captained India’s U-17 World Cup team, decided to extend his contract for the rest of the current I-League season, plus another two years. [caption id=“attachment_4106373” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Dheeraj Singh. Image courtesy: Twitter @IndianFootball[/caption] All the remaining players, except for Jeakson Singh, Anwar Ali and Nongdamba Naorem, have earlier signed contracts till the end of 2019-20 season, according to team sources. Jeakson, Anwar and Naorem are currently with the Indian Arrows on loan from Minerva Punjab. “Amarjit’s contract was to expire today but he has signed to extend his contract till 2019-20 season. Except for Jeakson, Anwar and Naorem, all the players now have same contract till 2019-20,” a team official told PTI on conditions of anonymity. “Before the start of the I-League, Amarjit and Dheeraj had signed contracts for upto December 31 and all the others for three years, that is till 2019-20 season,” he added. Meanwhile, India’s U-17 World Cup goalie Dheeraj has applied visa for travelling to United Kingdom for a trial with Motherwell FC, which is currently at the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League table. “Dheeraj has applied for his visa and he will be leaving for Scotland as soon as he receives the visa. He will be there in Scotland for at least two months for a trial at Motherwell FC,” his agent Anuj Kichlu told PTI. It is also learnt that the AIFF has received a letter from Motherwell FC that the club wanted Dheeraj to appear for a trial in Scotland and that was why he has been released by the federation. Apparently, in each of the contracts the AIFF signed with Arrows players after the FIFA U-17 World Cup, there is a clause that they will be released if any foreign club expresses interest in them and officially writes to the federation in this regard. Even if Motherwell decides to sign Dheeraj, it will not happen till July as Dheeraj is still a 17-year-old. He will be 18 on 4 July 2018. “Even if Motherwell decides to sign Dheeraj, it will happen only after July as he will have to be 18 year old to sign a contract,” Kichlu said. “There are also some other uncertainties on Dheeraj getting a work permit in UK and so he may go for trials in some other clubs at lower level such as a Championship side,” he added.