MUMBAI: One of India’s stars from last year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, could be on his way to sign a three-year deal with Scottish club Motherwell FC, with whom the young goalkeeper was training with since the last two months.
After the World Cup, the Manipur prodigy played for the Indian Arrows in the I-League till the end of December last year, before choosing not to renew his contract with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). So he decided to hone his skills in Scotland. After a good training stint with the club, Dheeraj is keen on extending his stay there.
According to a report in Times of India, his agent was quoted as saying, “He has done well during his time at Motherwell and the club has offered him a three-year contract. We have to now sort out the work permit which looks challenging.”
As per UK laws, footballers must have played in at least 75% of their nation’s competitive matches during the last 2 years and the team’s rankings should be in the top 70s.
However, Dheeraj and the club are hoping that an exception is made in this case.
To add to that, FIFA regulations stipulate that he cannot sign a professional contract till he turns 18 later this year. The coming months will determine whether the deal will materialize or not.
