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I-League has been the primary football training ground for youngsters before the ISL came up. While the ISL was focussed on glamour and popularity, I-League still remained as the league where talented youngsters keep showing up before being grabbed by its rich brother.
The talks of a league merger between ISL and I-league is a much-needed one at this point in time with both ISL and the I-League running parallel in different cities. Indian football needs a focussed longer single league which will pave way for better grassroots development and discovering newer talents.
Here, in this article, let us look at the top 10 young Indian footballers to watch out for the I-league Season 2018-19.
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#10 Chesterpaul Lyngdoh
Chesterpaul Lyngdoh might be only 21, but he has the experience of having played for FC Pune City, Churchill brothers and Mohan Bagan in the past few years. He has had a dynamic career with the youngster always pushing upwards the ladder.
He was part of the Ranko Popovic side that went into the 2017-18 Super Cup following his scintillating performances for the FC Pune City B Side.
The young midfielder from Meghalaya then returned to the Churchill Brothers lineup for I-League 2018-19 season.
Churchill Brothers knew all about his capabilities since he had already played for them on loan from Pune city in the I-League 2016-17 season.
It was the I-League season which brought Chesterpaul Lyngdoh to the limelight when he scored three goals for Churchill Brothers in the 14 matches that he played.
Churchill Brothers will be hoping for the repetition of such a performance from the Meghalaya youngster while he himself would be hoping to better those performances with a terrific I-League season.
#9 Arjun Jayaraj
He is a 22-year-old footballer from Kerala who was part of the Gokulam Kerala FC which debuted in I-league in the 2017-18 season. He also has a solitary goal to his credit in the last I-League season.
He is expected to continue his fine run in the 2018-19 I-league season. Gokulam Kerala FC Coach, Bino George was wide-eyed in the interviews when talking about the midfield linkup of Arjun Jayaraj, Salman K and Mohammad Rashid in the Gokulam Kerala squad. He even went on to advise them not to get anxious and focus on performance.
#8 Samuel Lalmuanpuia
Another youngster from the Mizoram mountains to throng the Indian football, 20-year-old Midfielder Samuel Lalmuanpuia has been part of the Shillong Lajong side for the last three seasons.
In total, he has 42 appearances in I-League for Shillong Lajong and is expected to be a regular in the 2018-19 I-League season. He was also picked as the Emerging Player of the I- League 2017-18 Season.
Watch out for this dynamic midfielder in the Shillong Lajong colours.
#7 Sanjeev Stalin
Sanjeev Stalin was part of the famed Indian U-17 squad that represented India in the World cup in 2017. Subsequent to that, Stalin joined the Indian Arrows and has been an integral part of it ever since then. It is noteworthy to note that his skills were well recognized by varied scouts and they had predicted a European future for him.
The left-back of Indian Arrows from Karnataka had appeared in 17 matches for Indian Arrows. He had an impeccable work ethic and terrific dead ball game which will definitely take him higher up the ladder of Indian football.
# 6 Jeakson Singh
Jeakson Singh Thounaojam is presently playing for Indian Arrows on loan from Kerala Blasters FC.
He was recently signed by David James on a three-year deal and is expected to be a part of the Kerala Squad in the future ISL seasons.
Jeakson is famed with the record of having scored the only goal for India in a FIFA tournament and is considered as a prolific central midfielder.
# 5 Akhil Praveen
Akhil Praveen is a newcomer to the I-league straight from the Kerala Premier League(KPL). He was part of the FC Thrissur squad that reached the knockouts of the KPL.
Minerva Punjab FC signed the central defensive midfielder and Akhil is yet to play at the topmost level of the league.
Akhil is another example of how the I-league clubs are churning out talented youngsters changing the face of Indian football.
# 4 Ritwik Kumar Das
Ritwik Kumar Das was the standout performer in the I-league second division for Real Kashmir FC and played a pivotal role in them qualifying for I-league. Ritwik scored 4 goals for Real Kashmir FC in the tournament making him the joint top scorer for the club.
Ritwik Kumar Das will be looking to make an impact in his inaugural I-league season in the midfield and be as threatening to the opponents as he was in the I-League Second division.
#3 Jitendra Singh
Jitendra Singh played for the India colts in the U-17 world cup as a defender. He was one of the few players who got the opportunities to pursue trials at Manchester International Football Academy and is regarded as a player for the future. Presently he is under the AIFF contract and shows up for the Indian Arrows in the I-league.
He was widely criticized for he was the culprit that allowed USA to score a penalty in the U-17 FIFA Worldcup. Jitendra has improved consistently thereafter and has even scored a goal in the I-League for Indian Arrows.
# 2 Rajesh Soosainayagam
S Rajesh is the new weapon of Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-league season 2018-19. This 25-year-old striker who is not much known outside the football circles was the top scorer in the last Santhosh trophy with eight goals for Karnataka. He has an impressive tally of 28 goals in the Santhosh trophy tournament overall.
Rajesh who hails from Thiruvananthapuram was signed up by Bino George to partner with Arjun Jayaraj in the Gokulam Kerala squad. He did have an instant impact in the game and is expected to start for Gokulam in the future I-League games.
# 1 Lalramchullova
The 22-year-old defender from Mizoram already has three I-League seasons under his belt. In the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, he appeared for Aizawl FC and was a regular. He made 30 appearances in the I-League and scored a goal. In the 2017-18, he played for East Bengal and made 12 appearances.
His extreme pace and dynamic skills were well appreciated by Khalid Jamil and he was the first choice left back for East Bengal in the last season. Even with new manager Alejandro Menendez on the radar, it is unlikely that the skill set of Lalramchullova will be benched.
Lalramchullova will be waiting to prove a point in this season of the I-League to stake a claim as one of the best left-backs in the country.
He knows that the ISL clubs are watching and would want to get into their radar. At the same time, East Bengal knows that they have a responsible defender in their left flank.
