Chennaiyin FC have been very busy snapping up foreigners in this offseason but now they have extended terms with their talented young forward, Rahim Ali. The India international has signed a fresh contract that will keep him at the club till 2024. Despite several rumours going on in the media, the young striker has pledged his loyalty to the Marina Machans and will look to increase his scoring output in the upcoming season.
Rahim has been with the team for sometime as he was also part of the Chennaiyin squad that reached the ISL finals in 2019-20. He has featured in over 40 matches for the club in the last three years and is gradually becoming a very integral part of the franchise. He will however look to contribute moe on the offensive side by scoring a handful of goals.
After putting pen to paper the former Indian Arrows man was very happy as he said, “I’m very happy to sign a new contract with Chennaiyin FC. There was never a doubt in my mind. I’m not going anywhere.”
The young striker also featured in the U-17 World Cup representing India back in 2017. He featured three times in the World Cup and started the game against Colombia U-17. It was genuinely a great experience for him as he then went on to play for the Indian Arrows in the I-League and then was picked up by Chennaiyin FC.
He has featured in 31 matches in the I-League for the Arrows and was considered as one of the rare attacking talents at that time. The boy from Barrackpore gradually made his way and now has six appearances for the Indian team since making his debut last year in September.
“Over the years Rahim moulded himself into one of the most exciting young talents in the country. Valuable experience with the Indian national team and youth on his side, his extension is a huge positive for our team,” co-owner Vita Dani said in delight over the extension of the young forward.
It will be a very important year for Rahim Ali and for Chennaiyin FC as a whole as they have gone through a complete overhaul in terms of coach and foreign players. So it will take time but they would also need to see some results to trust the process going forward.
