East Bengal FC sign Spanish Duo Javier Siverio and Saul Crespo

East Bengal FC has announced that Spanish footballers Javier Siverio and Saul Crespo have joined the club on free transfers for the upcoming season.

Commenting on these signings, Debabrata Mukherjee of Emami Group said, “We are pleased to have these two young and exciting players from Spain on board. Siverio has demonstrated being a quality finisher in the last two seasons of the ISL and Saul was one of the best midfielders in the league last year. We are confident that they will reach even greater heights under the mentorship of Coach Carles.”

East Bengal Head Coach Carles Cuadrat highlighted the skillsets of these young Spaniards, saying, “Siverio has been a fine goal-getter ever since he arrived in India. He has adapted himself to the rigors of the ISL after two years of playing here. I believe he will help to bolster our attack significantly. Saul, too, knows the competitiveness of the ISL and has played a key part in the midfield, which helped Odisha FC win the Super Cup. Both of them have excellent work-rates and also the right attitude to take the club forward.”

Forward Siverio helped Hyderabad FC (HFC) win their maiden Hero ISL title in his debut season (2021-22) in India. The 25-year-old graduated from the UD Las Palmas academy in 2015 and represented Spanish teams such as Las Palmas B, Racing Santander B and Racing Santander before moving to HFC ahead of the 2021-22 season. He has 12 goals to his name in 45 Hero ISL appearances.

He’s hungry for ILISH…And lots of GOALS! 🔥

Welcome to our home, Javier Siverio! ❤️💛#JoyEastBengal #WelcomeSiverio pic.twitter.com/LbQ8KgbBTZ
— East Bengal FC (@eastbengal_fc) June 17, 2023

Siverio, who scored 9 times for HFC across all competitions last season, expressed his excitement at joining East Bengal. He said, “It’s an honour for me to join this century-old club. India is a great country and I am thrilled to continue my journey in the ISL. I really admire the vision of Coach Carles and the investors for taking this club forward. I’ll try to repose the management’s faith by scoring plenty of goals for the Red & Gold brigade. I’ve seen how passionate the East Bengal fans are and I can’t wait to see them fill the Salt Lake Stadium. Joy East Bengal!”

Central midfielder Saul played a pivotal role in OFC’s maiden Hero ISL playoff qualification and recent Hero Super Cup triumph.

Born in Ponferrada, Saul played for Spanish clubs like Ponferradina, Atletico Astorga and Arandina before making his foray into the Hero ISL last year. The 26-year-old played 2,054 minutes and bagged 3 goals and 2 assists in 26 matches across all tournaments last season.

On joining East Bengal, Saul said, “When I learnt that East Bengal was interested in me, I didn’t hesitate to join them. They are one of the biggest clubs in India with the best fans. I watched the Kolkata Derby last year and was very impressed. I really want to play in this team and help them win as many games as possible.“