City soccer giants East Bengal have roped in Iran's Indian-origin winger Omid Singh on a two-year deal, a top official confirmed on Sunday.
The 29-year-old will join the I-League heavyweights from Naft Masjed Soleyman FC in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
"He has already put pen to paper for our club. He is now in Tehran and he has been signed on a two-year deal," the club's executive committee member Debabrata Sarkar told IANS.
Omid was in the spotlight last year when he expressed his desire to play for India. Croatian head coach Igor Stimac had also invited Omid to play for the national team.
Although he was raised in Iran, Omid's father holds an Indian passport.
"I liked to play for Iran national football team but I was not invited to Team Melli. At the moment, Iran are one of the best teams in Asia and it's hard to be part of the team. Mr. Stimac called me and I accepted to play for India," he was quoted as saying by Tehran Times last July.
"I am not familiar with Indian football team but I know that they have progressed a lot in the recent years. David James, Robert Pires, Nicolas Anelka, Roberto Carlos and Zico have played in Indian league in the past years," he added.
Omid started his playing career in Gahar Zagroz in Iranian football league and has also plied his trade in top-flight teams Naft Masjed Soleyman, Esteghlal Khuzestan, Pars Jonoubi and Nassaji.East Bengal are placed second on the I-League table with 23 points from 16 matches. Arch-rivals Mohun Bagan have already won the title with fours rounds to spare and have a 13-point lead. The I-League is suspended at the moment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
