Pune FC add Raju, Snehashis and Jessel to the roster for the season ahead

While Raju joins Pune FC from Churchill Brothers, Snehashis comes in from United SC and Jessel joins from Dempo SC. The trio thus become the first Indian players to be signed under Coach Karim Bencherifa.

Pune FC Head Operations, Chirag Tanna said: “We have been monitoring the progress of Raju and Snehashis for a couple of years now and we are glad to have finally signed them. Jessel is an exciting young player who has done very well in the Goa league in the last couple of seasons. He has trained with the team for a couple of weeks now and we believe he has the potential of being a really good player for us.”

Twenty-five year old Snehashis, who is an experienced pro in the Indian circuit, began his youth career at the erstwhile Eveready Association (now United SC) in the 2004-05 season. The following season he made the move to East Bengal’s youth side and represented them for two years.

In 2007-08, the Bengali medio moved back to United SC and was part of their senior side for two seasons before moving to Mohun Bagan in 2009-10. Snehashis represented Bagan for four consecutive seasons before moving back to United SC in the 2013-14 season.  At Bagan, Snehashis played for two seasons under Bencherifa, once in 2009-10 and then in 2012-13.

Raju, also twenty-five year old, began his professional career with Goan-side Churchill Brothers in 2011. His consistent performances over the years saw him make the left back position his own.

At Churchill, the Manipur-lad was an integral part of the side that won the Durand Cup and IFA Shield in 2011, I-League in 2012-13 and the Federation Cup in 2014. He also played a crucial role in Churchill’s campaign in the AFC Cup in 2013 and 2014 before bringing his three year association with the Goans to an end.

Twenty-four year Jessel began his youth career with a brief spell at Salgaocar FC before moving to Dempo in 2008. The Curtorim-born defender represented Dempo in the Goa Pro League as a junior for two seasons, before moving into the main team in 2010.

Apart from being a regular in the state league, Jessel has also represented Goa in Santosh Trophy during his six year stay at Dempo.

All three players have been training with the Pune FC squad currently in Goa for the preseason.