Emami East Bengal has acquired the services of Naveen Kumar on a season-long loan from FC Goa on Monday, the club announced on their social media handles. Naveen will stay with Emami East Bengal till the end of the upcoming 2022-23 season.

Kumar was part of the Gaurs team from the beginning of the 2019-20 season. The 33-year-old from Hoshiarpur had played a key role in FC Goa’s success in the previous Durand Cup.

The custodian had impressed with his play in the previous season of the Durand Cup and he was awarded the goalkeeper of the tournament. Kumar had mostly played as a back-up to Mohammad Nawaz and Dheeraj Singh while playing for the Gaurs.

Kumar was also part of the FC Goa’s team in their AFC Champions League match against Persepolis FC.

Naveen Kumar will batt with Kamaljit Singh for a place in the team’s starting XI in the upcoming season for East Bengal.

Meanwhile, East Bengal started their Durand Cup campaign against Indian Navy FT. Both the teams shared the spoils as the match ended in a goalless draw.

East Bengal will play their second match of the Durand Cup 2022 against Rajasthan United on 25th August at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata.

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, Mobashir, Souvik, Mahitosh, Alex Lima, Amarjit, Aniket, Naorem Mahesh, Suhair, Sumit, Cleiton, Eliandro.