The super-sub finished the 2022 Santosh Trophy campaign with nine scalps to his name and five of them came in a single match against Karnataka during the semi-final clash.
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Kerala came back from a goal down to defeat West Bengal 5-4 on penalties and lift their seventh Santosh Trophy title Manjeri Payyanad Football stadium in Malappuram on May 2. Kerala striker Jesin TK, who was the top scorer in the competition, is now one of the hottest prospects in Indian football and Indian super League (ISL) club ATK Mohun Bagan are reportedly interested in the youngster. The super-sub finished the 2022 Santosh Trophy campaign with nine scalps to his name and five of them came in a single match against Karnataka during the semi-final clash. The 22-year-old Kerala United FC player is now the new record holder for Kerala for the most number of goals scored in a game in the tournament. This was previously held by Asif Shaheer, who netted four goals against Bihar in the 1999 edition.
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As per reports, ATK Mohun Bagan are planning for an overhaul in their attacking department and the club has contacted Kerala United. ATKMB forwards Roy Krishan and David Williams are unlikely to be part of the team for the upcoming season because of various reasons, as per reports. Meanwhile the Kolkata side has already begun talks with Kerala Blasters FC forward Alvaro Vazquez and they are also looking for a promising Indian striker. Spanish coach Juan Ferrando likes to play possession based football and prefers to have players who are pretty good with the ball at their feet.
Jesin has good footwork, has decent pace and more importantly he has the knack of timing his runs to perfection. The youngster had never played for even the district team when Bino George picked him up from Nilambur. Just like Ferrando, Bino George’s team also plays shot-passing football with lot of emphasis on keeping the ball, therefore ATKMB could be a suitable destination for Jesin to grow as a footballer and working under Ferrando, a coach known for developing young players can be really beneficial for him.
“Jesin’s salary was Rs 7000 when i saw him, now ATK Mohun Bagan is willing to pay Rs 22 lakh to Kerala United for his services,” said Bino George, head coach of Kerala team, in a chat with Sportstar on Wednesday. Jesin didn’t start even a single game for Kerala in the Santosh Trophy finals, yet managed to get to the summit of the top scorers list. In the game against Karnataka, Kerala were trailing 1-0 when Bino George introduced him in place of Viknesh in the 30th minute. The youngster quickly made an impact as he leveled the score in the 35th minute when he timed his run to perfection to get on the end of Muhammad Rashid’s through ball and lift the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Koshy and into the back of the net.
Few minutes later, Jesin capitalised on an error by the Karnataka defence and toe-poked the ball into the back of the net before completing his hat trick like a fox in the box. Nijo Gilbert’s initial effort was saved by Koshy, but Jesin was lurking in front of goal ro convert the rebound and complete his hat-trick within 15 minutes of coming on. After the break, the Nilambur lad scored two more goals to help his side secure a 7-3 victory and enter the title decider. In the final, Jesin was once again introduced around the half-hour mark, and once again displayed his silky footwork and pace but failed to get on the score-sheet in the regulation time. However, Jesin converted his pot-kick during the penalty shootout to help his team clinch their first Santosh Trophy title at home since 1991.
