The 2024-25 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) is upon us, and naturally, the 13 clubs involved have made some big moves. There was plenty of transfer activity all summer as clubs fine-tuned their squads owing to the managerial continuity across the league.
Mohun Bagan continued to make big splashes in the market, but other ISL clubs weren't too far behind. ESPN takes a look at the best signings this summer:
Greg Stewart - Kilmarnock to Mohun Bagan SG
Every time Greg Stewart played a full ISL season, his club won the League Shield title. It's a good omen for defending champions Mohun Bagan, who've resolved to replace Hugo Boumous with the Scotsman.
Stewart's departure from Mumbai City midway through the 2023-24 season was a surprise, given his quality and importance to the club. His return to Scotland with Kilmarnock proved unfruitful, as he failed to score in 11 appearances for his former club. However, with his ability to breach well-drilled defensive setups with a solo dribble, an eye-of-the-needle pass, or even blast one in from range, he remains one of the ISL's most potent goal threats. Since his arrival on Indian shores in 2021-22, no player in the league has more goal contributions than his 42 (21 goals and 21 assists).
He comes into a Bagan side brimming with attacking quality and will dovetail well with the likes of Dimi Petratos, Jason Cummings and Jamie MacLaren. The only doubt is if this is too rich of a mixture, and Stewart and Petratos might jostle for similar positions on the pitch - thus negating both their qualities.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz - Mumbai City FC to Bengaluru FC
The last time Bengaluru FC had a forward who scored at least 10 goals in the ISL, they topped the league and won the Super Cup (2017-18, Miku with 15 goals and Sunil Chhetri with 14). It bodes well then, that Jorge Pereyra Diaz has scored a minimum of 10 goals in each of his last two seasons - his tally of 29 goals since his arrival in 2021-22 is the best in the league.
All three of Diaz's seasons in Indian football have seen his club fight for silverware - he was a runner-up with the Kerala Blasters in 2021-22, before winning the League Shield with Mumbai in 2022-23 and then the 2023-24 ISL trophy. Diaz is a forward who can lead a team to titles, and that was precisely Bengaluru FC's thought process when they signed him.
The Argentinian is one of those forwards that opposition defences hate, and he ought to link up well with former teammate Alberto Noguera. If he is ably supplied by those around him, Diaz's shot conversion rate (24.79%) will result in a goal tally that can push BFC back into contention for silverware. There is the question of how Diaz, Sunil Chhetri and Sivasakthi Narayanan will operate in different squad roles, but that's a good headache to have for boss Gerard Zaragoza.
#DurandCup2024 semifinal bound thanks to this Jorge Pereyra Diaz strike! ��#BFCKBFC #WeAreBFC #MBSGBFC pic.twitter.com/ck2PyKhYsR
- Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 26, 2024
Jon Toral - OFI Crete to Mumbai City FC
Arsenal fans of a certain vintage would have probably done a double-take upon learning Jon Toral had signed for Mumbai City FC. Toral, 29, had already made plenty of headlines as a teenager when Arsenal swooped to sign him and Hector Bellerin from Barcelona's famed academy, La Masia. Toral came to North London with a burgeoning reputation - he was long thought of as a successor to Cesc Fabregas.
Those heights never transpired, but Toral fashioned a decent career with spells across multiple clubs in Spain, Scotland and England. He's not your typical La Masia midfield maestro - Toral's physique and English heritage have meant he can be robust in the tackles as well - resulting in him being played deeper in midfield as well.
With Brandon Fernandez and Jeremy Manzorro also joining Mumbai this season, Toral could be deployed alongside Yoell van Nieff - but don't discount his eye for a pass. Both Vikram Partap Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte might profit from a long diagonal emanating from Toral's foot, as Petr Kratky seeks to add to his offensive options in midfield. Toral's pedigree certainly merits high hopes, and if he does meet it, Mumbai City will be amongst the silverware again this season.
Noah Sadaoui - FC Goa to Kerala Blasters
Namechecked by multiple opposition managers as the best player in the league last season, Noah Sadaoui's move from Goa to the Blasters certainly raised eyebrows. The Moroccan forward/winger tormented opposition defenders all season, with his 165 touches in the opposition box the best of any player in the history of the league.
Sadaoui's ankle-breaking trickery can reduce the best defenders to quivering shadows of themselves, and his exploits last season meant Goa led the league for a large spell. However, he can drift in and out of games if defenders double up on him (or when Rahul Bheke channels his inner Maldini). With Adrian Luna hollering at him though, Sadaoui ought to be alert at all times for the Blasters.
Congratulations to Noah on clinching the Golden Boot in the Durand Cup 2024!����#KBFC #KeralaBlasters pic.twitter.com/ovJIJhrPjt
- Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) September 1, 2024
There is a concern that the pair could crowd the same positions on the pitch, but if their 8-0 win over a Mumbai City reserve side in the Durand Cup is anything to go by, Sadaoui could be scoring hat-trick upon hat-trick this season.
Hugo Boumous - Mohun Bagan SG to Odisha FC
Hugo Boumous under Sergio Lobera is a fearsome combination - one that resulted in two trophies for Goa in 2019-20 and two for Mumbai in 2020-21. The mercurial Frenchman is one of the league's most devastating players on his day, although those days have been few and far between as he was almost an afterthought in Bagan's march to the League Shield title last season - making only eight appearances and scoring a solitary goal.
However, in reuniting with Lobera at Odisha FC, Boumous also links up with former teammate Ahmed Jahouh in midfield. It was a combination that was the foundation of Lobera's success in Indian football, and as the pair supply Diego Mauricio and Roy Krishna up-front, we can expect this Odisha side to be a veritable feast of goals.
Boumous' output may have diminished over the last few years, but if Lobera can get him motivated again, there will be few better sights to see in Indian football. And perhaps, that may result in another domestic double.
Honourable Mentions
Jamie MacLaren - Melbourne City to Mohun Bagan SG
Did Bagan really need the A-League's top scorer with Dimi Petratos and Jason Cummings already in their squad? Maybe not, but MacLaren guarantees goals, and that is always appreciated in the Kolkata maidan.
Kiyan Nassiri - Mohun Bagan SG to Chennaiyin FC
It was no secret that Kiyan Nassiri needed to move away from Mohun Bagan to earn playing time and thus kickstart his career, but with CFC also having Wilmar Jordan, Daniel Chima Chukwu, Connor Shields and Gurkirat Singh as forward options, Kiyan might have to operate in other parts of the pitch. Still, there are few better than Owen Coyle in developing young Indian players, so this might work out.
Dimitrios Diamantakos - Kerala Blasters to East Bengal
The ISL's Golden Boot winner last season, with the league's second-best ever shot conversion rate, joins Madih Talal's 10 assists from last season (the best in competition history). Sometimes football is simple, and Carles Cuadrat has a good simple solution here - Talal assist, Diamantakos goal, 1-0 win.
*Anwar Ali would have made this list, but given the staggering fines imposed on the 'transfer' by the Player Status Committee of the AIFF, it's quickly become one of the worst deals this season.