India U-17 World Cup defender Sanjeev Stalin joins third-tier Portuguese club

Indian defender Sanjeev Stalin, who played all three group matches during the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, has signed a contract with the senior team of Sertanense FC, the club officially announced on Sunday. Sertanense FC played in the Serie C of the Campeonato de Portugal last season and sat at the fourth spot with 38 points from 25 matches before the league got suspended.

Sanjeev Stalin provided the assist to Jeakson Singh's goal against Colombia in the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in 2017. India lost all their group stage matches in the biennial extravaganza, scoring only one goal.

Sanjeev Stalin previously signed a two-year contract with Primeira Liga club CD Aves' U-23 side but didn't make any appearances for them. The club is undergoing a financial crisis amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Prior to that, Stalin plied his trade for Indian Arrows over two seasons and accumulated 31 appearances in the I-League and Super Cup from 2017 to 2019.

While most of his teammates from the FIFA U-17 World Cup squad are playing in the ISL or the I-League, Sanjeev Stalin has taken a bold decision by going overseas. India's goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu improved his skills massively after his stint in Norway.

FC Goa's Technical Director and former national team player Derrick Pereira iterated the importance of Indian players going abroad to play in a recent interview with Sportskeeda.

Stalin, however, isn't the first Indian player to play professionally in Portugal. Hyderabad FC midfielder Sahil Tavora played for GD Santa Cruz Alvarenga in the fourth tier in 2019.

India's captain Sunil Chhetri ,too, had a year-long stint in Portugal when he signed for the reserve team of Sporting Clube de Portugal. The skipper played three matches for them in Liga Pro, the second tier of Portuguese football pyramid.