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The hugely popular Hero Indian Super League was founded in 2013 as a means to make football more popular as a sport in the country. Now, the ISL is one of India's most looked forward to sporting events and has been a host to football superstars such as Alessandro Del Piero and Roberto Carlos over the year.
The fourth edition has a few star names in its ranks and is currently underway in full swing. With the January transfer window opening soon, even more big names, who are currently without a contract, can join the league and add to the list of international stars in action.
Here are five defenders who could join the league next month!
#1 Alexander Milosevic
Milosevic is a Swedish footballer who plays centre back. The majority of his career has been at his boyhood club, AIK, where he made 80 appearances and scored four goals in the process. Before moving to AIK in February 2011, the 25-year-old also spent two years at Vasalunds IF where he played as a midfielder.
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Milosevic since then has made two appearances for Turkish giants Besiktas but mostly has been on loan to German and Turkish clubs since 2016. Currently a free agent, Milosevic could shine in the ISL and it would be clever business if one of the defensively weaker clubs could snap him up.
#4 Sebastien Bassong
The French defender started his youth career at the Clairefontaine Academy and signed his first professional contract with FC Metz in 2005 where he spent three years. He has played in England ever since and his first club was Newcastle United, where he made 30 appearances.
The 31-year-old then played for North London club Tottenham Hotspur between 2009 and 2012, making 45 appearances and scoring 2 goals. Bassong was then transferred to Norwich City at the end of the 2012 season and spent five years with the Canaries, making 105 appearances.
Clearly, Bassong is one of the most experienced free agents in the market at the moment and ISL clubs will surely be keeping an eye out for him.
#3 Georgios Galitsios
Aged 31, Galitsios is a right-back who is also currently a free agent. Although he hails from Greece, he has spent a majority of his career playing for Belgian club Lokeren. Before spending five seasons at Lokeren, Galitsios has played for Greek clubs Larissa and Olympiacos, making 122 appearances and scoring two goals.
He eventually spent six seasons at Lokeren between 2011 and 2017, making 158 appearances in all. Galitsios is known for his exceptional leg strength and is currently a free agent, so it won't be a surprise if an ISL club could pick him up in the upcoming transfer window.
#4 Joleon Lescott
Lescott is probably the most popular player on this list and has spent his entire career playing for English clubs in the Premier League and the Championship. The defender started with Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he was a regular starter for them and made 212 appearances between 2000 and 2006, scoring 13 goals.
He has since then played for Everton and Manchester City, making 220 appearances combined and scoring 21 times. In addition to this, Lescott has also made 26 appearances for the English senior team.
He has a phenomenal CV as compared to the other players on this list and would not mind adding to it if he joins an Indian club in January.
#5 Jose Bosingwa
The Portuguese international is a natural right back and made his debut for SC Freamunde, a Spanish LiguePro club. After spending three years at Boavista FC he made his first big move, moving to Porto FC in 2003. In the five seasons he spent at Porto, Bosingwa made 107 appearances and scored thrice.
The 35-year-old then moved to London where he made 89 appearances for Chelsea and eventually moved to Queens Park Rangers, where he only made 23 appearances. He has also made 25 appearances for the Portugal senior national team between 2007 and 2015.
An experienced defender who has played plenty of European football, there are certainly some Indian clubs who could use his services.
