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I-League winning coach Khalid Jamil has been linked with a move to East Bengal for the 2017-18 season. ESPN understands that negotiations between the club and the man who took Aizawl FC to the first league win for a team from the north-east of India are in their final stages, and an official announcement could take place soon. No major surprise in this move East Bengal have already been the busiest club in the transfer market. As soon as the domestic season got over after the Federation Cup, Aizawl players Mahmoud al Amna, Lalramchullova, Kingsley Eze and Brandon Vanlalremdika have been linked with a move to the club. It would seem a natural progression to see the man who got these players to put together a title-winning run -- famously using his fluency in Arabic to convince al Amna to come to Aizawl - to join him for the club that had once sought his services as a player a decade and a half ago. No budget, no problem East Bengal have been in discussions with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to be part of an expanded version of the Indian Super League (ISL) in the forthcoming season. Whether they make it to the ISL eventually or not, one thing that must be kept in mind is that all ISL clubs might have to cut down on their budgets in any case in case of an expanded league. This is where Jamil's appointment, in the scenario of East Bengal either joining the ISL or not, could prove to be handy for the club. With his nous at handling smaller clubs like Mumbai FC and Aizawl -- arguably getting both to punch above their weight -- could just lend the right kind of pragmatic approach to both building a team, as well as delivering the goods in the forthcoming season. Don't be deceived by last season East Bengal were a force in the first half of the I-League under English coach Trevor Morgan. They won six matches in a row, ironically after a 1-1 draw at home in their opening game against Aizawl, and their unbeaten run was brought to an end again by Jamil's Aizawl. They tailed off towards the end of the league, and much of that had to do with injuries to influential foreign players Willis Plaza and Wedson Anselme. Both Plaza and Anselme returned for the last couple of games, where East Bengal scored seven goals and registered handsome wins. They took that form to the Federation Cup as well, before being undone by two moments of individual brilliance from arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in the semi-final. Jamil brings tactical profiency While East Bengal have had some good seasons in recent years, it has often been a case of all-or-nothing, especially when it came to the business end of the I-League. Last season, they let the initiative slip in matches where they were dominant, and losses to Churchill Brothers, Chennai City and Jamil's Aizawl were all critical. Jamil as coach is not given to flights of fancy, and could make this a much more compact and disciplined team. His own record against East Bengal stands out -- Mumbai FC held a 6-4 advantage in 16 games in the I-League before Jamil switched over to Aizawl, and he nearly completed a double over them in 2017. Innovations such as the ones where he used striker Alfred Jaryan as a central midfielder, or to push winger Jayesh Rane into a more central role, will all be a part of the inventive thinking that East Bengal will inherit. Where he could go wrong East Bengal have not won the national league since 2003-04. Subsequent coaches have delivered Federation Cup wins and Calcutta Football League titles (the last one in 2016 was a record-setting seventh in succession) but the I-League title has stayed out of grasp. East Bengal officials are known to be extremely impatient, and even Mohun Bagan have only recently found some stability with Sanjoy Sen. Jamil, in the cauldron of Kolkata, will need to try and stay on the good side of the supporters and the club officials with his diplomacy off the field and the performances on it. His appointment is a sign that East Bengal too are looking to invest in a young coach and give him time to build a team, without stressing to deliver from the first day. The last East Bengal coach to have had that kind of personality was Subas Bhowmick, who last took charge of the team in the 2009-10 season. His strength, according to players like Bhaichung Bhutia, was the skill to get the best out of the team, his ability to micro-manage the players and give them the freedom to express themselves. This is not dissimilar to what is often said of Jamil. If his contract is eventually confirmed, Khalid Jamil's energy and calm calculations could be the kind of game-changer East Bengal need, irrespective of the league they play in the coming season.
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