Former Hyderabad FC youngster Nikhil Prabhu has now made his Odisha FC move permanent by signing a two year contract with the Kalinga Warriors, the club announced on Wednesday.

Prabhu is a very talented young footballer and securing his services was a smart move for the Bhubaneshwar-based outfit as they have mostly maintained that mixture of youthful exuberance and priceless experience. The blend of both will take Odisha FC forward in the upcoming Indian Super League season.

The youngster was on loan at Odisha FC last season from Hyderabad FC and the deal had an option to make the move permanent and Odisha FC activated that clause and tied him down to Bhubaneshwar for the next couple of seasons at least.

“Odisha FC would like to announce that Nikhil Prabhu has completed a permanent move from Hyderabad FC for an undisclosed fee. He joins on a 2-year deal with an option to extend for a further year,” the club said in a statement on their official website.

Prabhu was first spotted playing in the Mumbai league and excelling at the domestic level. He was scouted by FC Pune City’s scout and soon became a part of Pune City’s U18 team. Later he joined Hyderabad FC’s youth team and was an important member there.

He was promoted to the Hyderabad FC senior team in the 2020-21 season but he did not get a single appearance for the Nizams under head coach Manolo Marquez. So they decided to send him out on loan to Odisha FC.

The defender featured in three matches after joining the Kalinga Warriors in the later half of the season and in coming years he will get more gametime as the Odisha FC team management are very hopeful with his chances to flourish.

Nikhil Prabhu is a versatile defender who can play in multiple positions in defence and can also double up as a defensive midfielder if he is given the role of screening the back four. Odisha FC have through the years shown trust in their youngsters and this time again they are doing the same as they hope Prabhu becomes a regular in the coming years.