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Sergio Lobera and Mumbai City FC have rounded out their roster of overseas players after announcing the signing of Spanish midfielder Hernan Santana. The 30-year-old last played for Sporting Gijon in the second-tier of Spain before signing with Mumbai City FC.
This is Santana's first football assignment outside of Spain. He previously played for Las Palmas from 2010 to 2018, before joining Sporting Gijon. He now becomes the 21st Spanish player to be contracted to Indian Super League.
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Over the years, Santana has generally been deployed in central midfield and has gained a reputation for being a hard tackler. The Spaniard is also known for his vision and his ability to pick a pass to assist forwards. He is expected to fit in rather well into Sergio Lobera's system of attacking football that left the FC Goa fans enthralled the previous season.
Hernan Santana expected to partner Mourtada Fall in central defense for Mumbai City FC
Although he has played most of his career in central midfield, there is an anticipation that Santana will play alongside Mourtada Fall in central defense for Mumbai City FC. Following the departures of Subhasish Bose and Pratik Chaudhuri, there is a certain deficiency of central defenders in the side.
Sergio Lobera has made many signings in his tenure as Mumbai City FC coach. The first arrival came in the form of Japanese midfielder Cy Goodard on loan from Italian side Benevento. Other big names soon followed, with Mourtada Fall, Ahmed Jahouh, Mandar Rao Dessai, and Hugo Boumous reuniting with Lobera.
However, Mumbai City FC's biggest signing so far has been Adam le Fondre. The 33-year-old, who previously played for Reading, has been in incredible form since signing for Sydney FC in the A-League. He has been one of the top goalscorers in the league with 39 goals in just 57 appearances across two seasons.
While all of this looks good on paper, it remains to be seen whether Lobera can rally his troops when the ISL begins on the 20th of November.
