East Bengal FC has acquired the services of striker Semboi Haokip ahead of the ninth edition of the Hero Indian Super League 2022-23, the club made the announcement on their social media handles on Tuesday.

The Indian footballer had begun his professional debut for Pune FC in the I-League. He then moved to Kerala Blasters in 2016 and then moved to East Bengal in the 2016-17 season. The forward had joined Bengaluru FC back in 2017. He went on to score 10 goals in 38 appearances for the Blues.

The 29-year-old from Manipur was part of the East Bengal squad for the previous season of the ISL. He played 12 matches for the club in which he scored twice and also provided one assist.

Haokip had also scored in the team’s 6-4 win against Odisha FC in the last edition. The forward with join players like ​​Suhair VP, Aniket Jadhav, Cleiton Silva, Himanshu Jangra, and Eliandro in the attacking line.

East Bengal FC will face a strong Mumbai City FC in their upcoming Group B fixture in the 2022 Durand Cup on Saturday, September 3, and Haokip is expected to be part of the starting XI. But there is no doubt the Gold and Red Brigade will have their work cut against the Islanders.

On the other hand, East Bengal had finished the previous season of Hero Indian Super League as cellar dwellers of the tournament. The Kolkata giants could only manage a solitary win in their 20 matches and their head coach Stephen Constantine will be determined to turn the tables in the upcoming season.

Emami East Bengal squad for Durand Cup 2022: Kamaljit, Pawan, Aditya, Pritam, Rakip, Sarthak, Jerry, Ivan Gonzalez, Charis Kyriakou, Lalchungnunga, Nabi Hussain, Ankit Mukherjee, Angousena, Himanshu,