Hyderabad FC sign Vignesh Dakshinamurthy as Akash Mishra's replacement

Desperately seeking a solution for the left-back position vacated by Akash Mishra, Hyderabad FC acquired the services of Vignesh Dakshinamurthy on a four-year deal from Mumbai City FC on Monday, July 10. It is understood that this is not a swap deal despite the left-backs of both teams going in opposite directions.

For the uninitiated, Mishra had made the trip up the west coast on June 19.

Vignesh, 25, has been capped by the Indian national team on two occasions. He will add a lot of quality to the Hyderabad FC backline, which has been left impoverished after the departures of Mishra and Spanish centre-back Odei Onaindia.

He comes to the Maidaan in Gachibowli with the reputation of being somewhat of a serial winner with Mumbai City FC, owing to his contributions to their ISL Shield wins in 2020/21 and 2022/23.

The Srirampura-born defender will man the left full-back position for the Yellow and Black brigade, making it to the starting lineup straight away. It is understood that Manoj Mohammed will play the role of an understudy to Vignesh in the left-back position, as he did to Mishra last season.

A visibly excited Vignesh, after putting pen to paper, said:

“I’m very excited to join Hyderabad FC. Over the last few seasons, the club has shown immense faith in young Indian players and I believe this is the best place for the next stage of my career.

"I’m thankful to the management for showing a lot of faith in me. We have an exciting squad at the club, and I can’t wait to get down to the field and put on the yellow and black jersey.”

"Vignesh will be a long-term asset for Hyderabad FC" -Club owner Varun Tripuraneni

After making the announcement, Hyderabad FC owner Varun Tripuraneni said in a statement:

“We’ve been tracking Vignesh for a while now and are extremely happy to have him on board. He was an integral part of two Shield-winning campaigns and knows the demands at this level. Vignesh will be a long-term asset for Hyderabad FC and we believe he will add a lot of strength to our team in the coming seasons.”

Hyderabad FC have been relatively quiet on the transfer front in this window, having made few forays into the market so far. Akash Mishra, Javier Siverio, Odei Onaindia, Borja Herrera, Joel Chianese, Halicharan Narzary, and Rohit Danu have all left the club, but Vignesh's is the first name on the incoming list this season.

Perhaps the club was waiting for the announcement of the new coaching group which they eventually did last Friday, July 7. Thangboi Singto takes charge as head coach with Conor Nestor joining him as first-team coach. Shameel Chembakath, meanwhile, continues as assistant coach.

With the left-back position filled, the fans of Hyderabad FC can expect more signings to be announced in the coming days.