Emami East Bengal FC has announced a major signing for the upcoming season with the acquisition of French playmaker Madih Talal on a two-year deal. Talal will turn out to be an integral part of East Bengal’s lineup until the end of the 2025-26 season after he finished as the top assist provider in the previous edition of the Indian Super League.
With the induction of Talal, the current ISL Golden Boot winner Dimitrios Diamantakos, Kalinga Super Cup 2024 top scorer Cleiton Silva, and Durand Cup 2023 Golden Boot winner David Lalhlansanga, the attacking talent of East Bengal is likely to increase manifolds. The club is banking on these talents to escalate its positioning in the upcoming ISL season.
Welcoming Talal into the club fold, Mr. Vibhash Vardhan Agarwal of the Emami Group said, “Talal is the best playmaker in the last season’s ISL, and we are happy to have him on board. He will team up with Diamantakos, Cleiton, David, Mahesh, Nandha, Vishnu, Sayan, and Aman to strengthen our attack. We are pleased to have cracked this key deal,” Agarwal said.
Notably, the head coach of East Bengal, Carles Cuadrat, also commented on the new signing. “Talal has been one of the top foreigners to make an impact in their debut ISL season. His talent greatly enhanced his team’s attack, so he not only recorded the maximum assists in the league but also scored a good number of goals.”.
“After some conversations, Talal chose East Bengal over other ISL clubs, knowing how central he was going to be for our new project,” Cuadrat said.
But ever since coming to India last August, Talal’s impact in the ISL has been nothing short of impressive. Last time out, he turned out for Punjab FC and played every single ISL match and all Kalinga Super Cup fixtures for a total amount of minutes of play accumulated across both competitions of 1,910 mins. Five out of six ISL triumphs by Punjab were at his hands—six goals with ten assists, and that keeps him afloat. Talal also provided two assists in the Kalinga Super Cup.
Everyone saw his exceptional ball control and fleet-footedness, as he completed the most dribbles with 42 in ISL 2023-24. His playmaking skills, too, came through with him creating the second-most with 57 chances throughout the league. Before coming to India, Talal turned out for a host of clubs in Europe—Amiens SC, Entente SSG, Red Star FC, and US Avranches in France, Las Rozas CF in Spain, and A.E. Kifisia in Greece.
Talal was excited to express his views on the move, saying, “East Bengal’s contribution towards Indian football is huge, and it’s an absolute honor to commit my future to this legendary club. I’m excited to meet my new teammates and our incredible fans who make this club special.”.
It may be duly noted that the registration of Talal’s contract is subject to the completion of the regulatory formalities taken by the club hierarchy, but no doubt it is a moment of staunchly bidden anticipation by the fans and the club alike before his debut. With Talal coming on board, East Bengal FC is setting high expectations for the forthcoming ISL season by banking on his playmaking abilities for a top finish.
