Mumbai City FC have agreement with Odisha FC on extending the loan of 24-year-old midfielder Vinit Rai by another year, the clubs confirmed on July 12. He will continue to represent the Islanders till the end of the upcoming Indian Super League season.
24-year-old midfielder Rai is officially an Odisha player, having joined the club way back in 2017. However, in January 2022, he was sent out on loan to Mumbai City.
Rai made 10 appearances for the Islanders over the course of the 2021-22 ISL season and was a fundamental part of the club’s historic achievement in the 2022 AFC Champions League, which saw Mumbai finish second in their group. The player took part in five of the team’s six group stage matches in Asia’s premier club competition during the month of April.
“The last six months of my career with Mumbai City were an important part of my learning curve as a footballer and I am pleased to add another season to my time with the club that has helped me grow.
Being able to work with some of the finest players in the league and to be able to play at the highest level in Asia has given me plenty to build on in my first full season with Mumbai City,”
Rai told the club’s official website.
Rai is a product of the Tata Football Academy. Born in Duliajan, Assam, he was scouted by the Duliajan Football Academy and later by the Tata Football Academy at the age of 13 and trained with them for four years. Having graduated from Tata, he signed an I League contract with Dempo in 2014 and spent two years there.
He began his ISL career with Kerala Blasters in 2016 and spent a season there before moving on to the now-defunct Delhi Dynamos and Odisha. He has made 79 ISL appearances so far in his career and also had a loan stint with Minerva Punjab in 2017.
