Anas Edathodika, the Kerala-born centre-half, has signed for Jamshedpur FC on a one-year deal. After previously having spent one season at the club in 2017, he returns to the Red Miners, where he was once picked up by the club in the first rounds of the 2017-18 ISL Players Draft, making him one of the club’s first-ever players after their inception in 2017.
Anas first started playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) for the Bhubaneswar-based side, Odisha FC, formerly known as Delhi Dynamos. He spent one year there and later was loaned to Mohun Bagan A.C. After his tenure with the Kalinga Warriors, he was selected by Jamshedpur FC, but only after one season, made a move to his home-town club Kerala Blasters FC, in 2018.
Anas was part of the Indian National Team at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE and played a crucial role in India’s only victory against Thailand. He has been in and out of the National Team and has featured for India 21 times since he made his senior debut in 2017.
Anas joined ATK in 2019 with a lot to prove but had to settle with only seven starts for the Kolkata-based side in a season for him to forget due to his injury woes. He struggled to find any game-time after his stint with ATK and did not play a single game in the 2020-21 campaign.
Although he did not feature after a disappointing tenure with ATK, his return to Jamshedpur FC might prove to be a breath of fresh air for the centre-half, not to forget how important this move might be for The Men of Steel, after having a much disenchanting 2020-21 season themselves, having finished in the sixth position and failing to qualify for the play-offs in the Indian Super League (ISL).
The 34-year-old veteran will bring his experience of having played at the highest levels for The National Team and in the Indian Super League (ISL), having paired alongside ATK’s and team India’s first-choice centre-back Sandesh Jhingan in defense. Anas Edathodika might have a huge role to play in the 2021-22 season for Jamshedpur FC and provide healthy competition to Narender Gahlot and Jitu. The move back to Jamshedpur FC seems like a win-win for both parties.
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