Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC announced the signing of Indian international centre-back Sandesh Jhingan on a one-year contract ahead of the 2022-23 season on August 14.
The 29-year-old, who most recently played for ATK Mohun Bagan, joined Simon Grayson’s squad for an open training session at the Bangalore Football Stadium, and is no stranger to the club, having previously played on loan for the Blues during their Federation Cup-winning 2016-17 season.
“There were a few factors that made the decision to come back to Bengaluru FC easy. I’ve spent a season here before and the amount of love and support I’ve received from the fans even after I’ve left, has been very special. I’ve played at the Kanteerava more than just a few times with the national team and Bengaluru, and the atmosphere has always been electric,”
said Jhingan, after completing the formalities on his deal.
Jhingan, the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2020-21, began his footballing career at the St. Stephen’s Academy before joining I-League side United Sikkim in 2011.
He spent two seasons in Sikkim, the first of which saw the side promoted to the I-League, before signing with ISL side Kerala Blasters in 2014. Jhingan left the Blasters for loan spells with Sporting Clube de Goa (2015), DSK Shivajians (2016), and Bengaluru (2017).
“The club has built a strong team this season and has never been short on ambition. They know how to win trophies. In addition to some quality new signings, players like (Sunil) Chhetri bhai, Gurpreet (Sandhu) and Udanta (Singh) have been here for a while now and we’re looking good as a unit,”
he added.
Jhingan has represented India at both the youth and senior levels, making his debut for the national team with India U23s at the 2014 Asian Games.
Since making his senior team debut, the defender has made 46 appearances for India, scoring four goals. Jhingan has also made 107 appearances in the ISL across seven seasons. Bengaluru kick off their 2022-23 season on August 17 against Jamshedpur in Group A of the 131st Durand Cup.
