NorthEast United FC has announced the signing of Mayakkannan Muthu on a multi-year deal from Sreenidi Deccan FC in a bid to strengthen their midfield for the upcoming ISL season. The 26-year-old Tamil Nadu midfielder is all set to add the much-needed strength and versatility to the midfield of the Highlanders.
Muthu began his football journey in Noble Football Academy, Tamil Nadu. He then joined Gokulam Kerala FC as the outset of his senior career, where he rose very rapidly from the reserve team to first team status. He made a variety of valuable contributions toward securing the 2020/21 I-League title for Gokulam Kerala FC.
After the fantastic stint with Gokulam Kerala, Mayakkannan signed up with the I-League newcomers Sreenidi Deccan FC. His time at Sreenidi Deccan revealed how he could adapt to different midfield roles, usually playing as an anchor man and box-to-box midfielder. Mayakkannan led at the front, becoming the captain for the 2023-24 season and leading his team to a respectable second place in the league.
He expressed his excitement about the new chapter in his career: “I am very excited to be a part of NorthEast United FC. The ambitions that the club has, what all they want to achieve in the near future—those were the reasons I came here. I can’t express how excited I am to work with this team and do something special together in the coming seasons.”.
Head Coach Juan Pedro Benali was delighted with the new signing and said, “We are very happy for Mayakkannan to join us. He brings great versatility and work rate, so we believe he was one of the top midfielders for our team. We look forward to working with him and making him grow further so that we can achieve greater things this season.”.
NorthEast United FC CEO, Mandar Tamhane, stressed upon the interest of the club in Mayakkannan: “Maya is a natural footballer, and we have been tracking his progress for quite a while now. We believe that he has huge potential; with the sort of technical staff that we have here, he could go on to be one of the top-class midfielders. We are fairly certain that he will literally make a difference in the squad.”
Signing Mayakkannan will no doubt prove to be a strategic move for NorthEast United FC—to get the best from its players and turn up well for the forthcoming season. His experience in the I-League and leadership features are bound to play an important role in the midfield dynamics of the team.
With the signing of Mayakkannan Muthu, NorthEast United FC youth will have set in. His signature might atone for extravagance in the right direction. Everybody—a fan or an analyst—will need to see how well the new signing would adapt into the team and finally end up contributing towards their success in the upcoming season.
