ISL 2017: 5 foreign stars who have failed to impress so far this season

A number of marquee foreign signings had made their way to India ahead of ISL 2017. The clubs did not hesitate to splurge huge cash on foreign stars.

While some foreign signings like Coro, Miku, Robbie Keane and Marcelinho have performed well so far, others have been complete no-shows in terms of performances on the pitch. On that note, let's take a look at five foreign players in the ISL who have underperformed so far.

Luis Alfonso Paez

Hailing from Columbia, Alfonso is one of the marquee forwards for NorthEast United FC, but has failed to find the back of the net this season even once. Alfonso has made five appearances for the club but hasn't scored as of yet. Northeast United need Paez to step up if they wish to turn it around and move up the table.

Kervens Belfort

Kervens Belfort (Photo: ISL)

Kervens Belfort is another foreign player who has not lived up to the expectations. The 25-year-old hails from Haiti and wears the number 9 shirt for Jamshedpur FC, who signed him from Kerala Blasters.

However, he has failed to light it up at Jamshedpur, failing to score even once from six appearances so far. Belfort's best footballing performances have come in his national colors. He has made 42 appearances for Haiti and has scored 16 times. Jamshedpur FC will be hoping that Belfort finds his goalscoring form soon, as they themselves have also struggled to score the goals. However, their rock-solid defence has bailed them out on most occasions.

Kalu Uche

Kalu Uche (Photo: ISL)

The Nigerian international signed for Delhi Dynamos FC in 2017 and wears the number 9 shirt for them. Uche has previously played in the Indian Super League for Pune City FC in 2015, making 11 appearances from which he scored 4 goals.

Delhi Dynamos FC are currently languishing at the bottom of the table, with just one win in 7 games and a miserable goal difference of -14. Kalu Uche was signed by DDFC to solve the goal-scoring woes they faced last season but he hasn't been able to do so.

The 35-year-old has made 5 appearances for the club and has scored just twice so far. Delhi Dynamos FC need to revive their season in 2018, starting with a tough away game to Chennaiyin FC on January 7.

Edu Moya

Edu Moya (Photo: ISL)

Delhi Dynamos are performing poorly, and it is no surprise that we have yet another player from the capital club on our list. Right back Edu Moya was signed by Delhi Dynamos ahead of the current season. However, his performance at RB hasn't been up to the mark.

Delhi have a goal difference of -14 and have conceded 19 goals in just 7 games, almost 3 goals a game. The club isn't used to being in such a position, as they have made it to the top four in the last two seasons and have a tough set of fixtures coming up in 2017.

The manager will be hoping to make further reinforcements in the defence but Moya and his fellow defenders need to perform a lot better if Delhi have any hope of making it to the top 4 once again.

Sambinha

Sambinha (Photo: ISL)

The Portuguese centre-back joined Northeast United FC this season, and there was a fair amount of expectation on his shoulders. However, he has so far made five appearances for Northeast United and has been a liability at the back.

The 25-year-old's defence has often been called into question with the number of goals that Northeast United have conceded. Sambinha has failed to intimidate opposition defenders which is the reason why Northeast United have conceded 12 goals this season, the second most by any team.

Northeast United's last game was a 5-0 battering against FC Pune City and things do not look good for them, as their next match is against FC Goa, who has been one of the most prolific teams up front this season. A change in tactics could be on the cards if Northeast United cannot stop conceding easy goals like they have done so far.