All eyes on foreign players as transfer window closes

Five-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings have emerged as the strongest side on paper, assembling a squad packed with 17 current and former national players alongside four proven foreign campaigners, as the two-and-a-half-month-long transfer window closed on Thursday night.

Although six-time champions Abahani had been expected to form a stronger squad than last season, it was Kings who stunned the football fraternity by signing four established foreign players -- Brazilians Dorielton Gomes and Raphael Augusto, and Nigerians Emmanuel Sunday and Emmanuel Tony. Additionally, they secured two key local players, Mohammad Ridoy and Shahriar Emon, from rivals Abahani.

Kings also surprised many by recruiting Sunderland U-21 player Cuba Mitchell, further strengthening their 35-member squad, which already made an impact by defeating Syrian side Al Karamah SC in the preliminary round of the AFC Challenge League.

"I believe we've formed a stronger squad than last season, and we've already proved our potential in the AFC Challenge League," said Kings captain Topu Barman. "We aim to compete for all five titles this season and make history by winning them all."

Attention had also been on defending champions Mohammedan, especially after their historic maiden professional league title last season. However, the Black and Whites appear to have lost some strength after parting ways with three key foreign players -- Souleymane Diabate, Emmanuel Sunday, and Emmanuel Tony -- due to financial constraints.

Despite the setbacks, Mohammedan remain optimistic about competing on all fronts.

"We've signed better local players than last season, though we couldn't retain all our foreign players because of financial issues," said Mohammedan manager Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. "Still, we've built a fighting team like last year when we started as underdogs. On paper, Kings have assembled the best squad."

Last season's runners-up Abahani retained most of their local players, except Ridoy and Emon, but added national team stars Sheikh Morsalin and Al Amin, along with the return of proven Malian forward Souleymane Diabate.

"We could have felt better had we managed to form a stronger squad," said Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu. "It would have helped if we'd signed the foreign players we initially contacted. Now, we'll wait and see how the new foreign recruits perform."

Rupu added that Abahani believe in performance on the pitch rather than squad strength on paper and will compete for the four titles available this season.

Besides Kings, Mohammedan, and Abahani, the remaining seven clubs -- Fortis FC, Rahmatganj MFS, Brothers Union, Bangladesh Police FC, Young Men's Fakirerpool Club, newly promoted Arambagh KS, and PWD Club -- have also completed their player registrations.

Mohammedan's Nakib pointed out that teams like Fortis, Police, and Rahmatganj could pose challenges this season, stating, "There's little difference among local players across clubs; foreign signings will ultimately decide the matches."

Apart from three foreign players eligible to start against a maximum of five registrations, the new rule allowing five players from SAARC countries to be fielded as 'local players' could also potentially make an impact on how teams perform in the long run.