The 27-year-old and has scored 7 goals in 41 Indian Super League appearances for the Kolkata outfit and Jamshedpur FC.
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According to a recent report by IFTWC, Odisha FC have agreed on terms with ATK Mohun Bagan to sign winger Michael Soosairaj. OFC are looking to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season. The 27-year-old footballer was born in Tamil Nadu and had his first professional stint with Nethaji SC before joining I-League side Chennai City FC. It was at Chennai City FC that grew as a professional footballer. The winger joined ATKMB in 2019 and went on to make a total of 27 appearances in three seasons across all competitions. After a fruitful first season with the Kolkata outfit that saw him making 17 ISL appearances, Soosairaj suffered an ACL in the following season.
Odisha FC are set to sign Michael Soosairaj from ATK Mohun Bagan!?#OFC #ISL #IFTWC #Transfers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/auiFft6vwW
— IFTWC (@IFTWC) May 25, 2022
Soosairaj started training with his local football club/academy St. Catherine one of the oldest football club’s in the state at an early stage and represented college in inter-university tournament before joining the Arrows FC of the CFA Senior Division. After spending time with Arrows, Soosairaj joined Chennai City FC. He also represented Tamil Nadu in the Santosh Trophy. In 2016, Chennai City got entry into the I-League and that was the turning point in his career. Soosairaj was one of the star players in the squad and went on to captain them. Sossairaj made 33 appearances for CFC, scoring 5 goals and registering 4 assists.
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ISL club Jamshedpur FC came calling in 2018 and Soosairaj joined the Red Miners. He had a successful debut ISL season as he scored 4 goals in 14 appearances for the Men of Steel. He was one of the standout players of the season, and his performances led to him gaining his first international call-up. He made his lone international appearance against Curacao in a friendly match in June, 2019. Before the start of the 2019-20 ISL season, three time champions ATK FC signed the youngster. Soosairaj went on to play a key role in the Kolkata-based club’s ISL triumph. His speed, crossing and ability to take on defenders was pivotal to the team;s success.
Soosairaj continued at the club with the new merger between ATK FC and Mohun Bagan in 2020. Just when it looked like the youngster was on top of his game and was itching to continue the impressive run, during the opening game of the 2020-21 season against Kerala Blasters, he suffered an ACL injury and was ruled out of the season. The injury proved to be a downfall in his career as he made just 7 games after recovering from it. Meanwhile the emergence of Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh pushed him to the bench and cut short his playing time.
Soosairaj is in search of more game time and Odisha FC would be the perfect option for him to revive his career. OFC finished seventh in the ISL standings last season. Soosairaj’s addition will certainly add more flair and pace to their forward line consisting of Nandha Kumar, Jerry Mawihimingthanga among others. Jerry was the top Indian goal-scorer for OFC last term with 3 scalps to his name in 19 appearances.
