"I have a soft corner for Hyderabad FC since they promoted me into the ISL" - Punjab FC's Nikhil Prabhu reminisces about former club | ISL 2023-24

Nikhil Prabhu, who has reinvented himself as a central defensive midfielder under head coach Staikos Vergetis at Punjab FC, played a critical role in their 2-0 win over Hyderabad FC in Gachibowli on Tuesday.

Prabhu, who is a center-back by trade, is also a product of the Hyderabad academy. He also captained their reserves in the I-League second division before being promoted to the first team in the 2020-21 ISL season.

Quite naturally, the 23-year-old was emotional when he turned up for his new club against the Nawabs on Tuesday. Chatting to Sportskeeda after the game, he said that it was quite a nostalgic moment for him, although he was happy with the victory.

"It feels good to come back and play against Hyderabad FC. I have a soft corner for them since they promoted me into the ISL when I was leading them in the I-League second division. I learnt a lot under Manolo (Marquez). If you see now, I am more calm when I have the ball, and that is due to working with him," Nikhil Prabhu said.

"However, I am very happy with the three points, and happier still with the clean sheet, since we were working hard on our defensive skills. So, it gave us a lot of joy to keep the clean sheet since it is a direct reward for our efforts on the training pitch," he added.

"The shift to playing as a CDM has helped me as I am an aggressive player" - Nikhil Prabhu

Nikhil Prabhu is playing as a CDM for Punjab FC these days.

One of the biggest changes that one can see in Nikhil Prabhu's game ever since he was asked to play as the CDM (central defensive midfielder) by Vergetis is his composed nature on the ball.

On Tuesday, his passing and awareness skills seemed to be top-notch as he played that vital role of being the go-to between the Shers' attack and defence by assisting one and shielding the other.

"The shift to playing as a CDM has helped me as I am an aggressive player. People now notice my tackling skills and aggressive nature in front of the defence. I am playing the ball well in front of me and helping my attacking midfielders as well," said Prabhu.

Quite naturally, the former Odisha FC and FC Goa player commended Vergetis for preparing him for this role in training to do the job well.

"The main role for me is to break transitions, and I have been able to do that. So, whenever there is a transition, my job is to stop it, either by tackling or holding or making a foul. In that way, coach Staikos (Vergetis) has helped me a lot," he signed off.