The Indian Super League (ISL) has risen from a three -month tournament of the most important division of men’s football in the country in the past decade.
Although the season from 2025-26 has remained uncertain, some clubs as usual continue to do business and the team building before the Durand Cup, followed by the Super Cup, which was planned in September.
With the summer transfer window that ends on Tuesday, Sportstar looks at the best signing sessions in Indian football this season:
Robson Robinho: Água Santa → Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Mohun Bagan Super Giant was desperately looking for a winger-cum-attacking midfielder after releasing Greg Stewart after last season.
Robson Robinho, a Bangladesh Premier League legend born and raised in Brazil, turned out to be the answer.
The 30-year-old, who previously played for Brazilian gigantic Fluminense, won seven titles with Bashundhara Kings in three years, scored 64 times and assisted 49 more in 97 performances.
With Jason Cummings, Jamie Maclaren and Robinho, the Mariners seem to have a Power-Pack Arsenaal next season.
Javier Siverio: Jamshedpur FC → FC Goa
Javi Siverio has been through and through a protection of Manolo Marquez. From their days at UD Las Palmas to the ISL, Siverio once won the Super League, under Marquez at Hyderabad FC.
It was no surprise that the Spaniard, who had helped Jameshedpur last season to reach the ISL final and Super Cup final, was decorated by Marquez in his current side, FC Goa.
And in his first performance for the Gaurs, he made his mark, scored the winner against Al Seeb from Oman and sealed a place in the AFC Champions League Two for the ISL side.
Siverio is skilled on set pieces, with his ability to walk in as a syruper, in the box, one of his greatest qualities.
Mohammed Rashid: Persebaya Surabaya → East -Bengal FC
Oost -Bengalen, one of the most successful clubs in India, has not fulfilled its reputation in the ISL so far.
And after the end of the ninth last season, it decided to strengthen the team and sign Palestina International Mohammed Bassim Ahmed Rashid on a free transfer.
Rashid was an important member of the Palestinian side who reached the Tour of 16 of the AFC Asian Cup last year, the best performance in the continental tournament.
Rashid mainly played as a defensive midfielder and played this season in four of the five games of East Bengal and has a goal, against the Indian Air Force Football team, in a 6-1 win in the Durand Cup.
The power of Rashid lies in its ball-winning capacity, which binds well with another of the new signing sessions of East Bengal, Miguel Figueira, giving the team a greater calmness, both with and without the ball.
Andy Rodriguez: FC Cartagena → Northeast United FC
Northast United FC decided to shake his pack before he started his Durand Cup title defense, making important foreigners Nestor Albiach (former club captain), Hamza Regragui and Mohammed Ali Bemammer possible to leave for free.
The replacements – Jairo Sampeiro, CHema Nunez and Andy Rodriguez – have all worn fruit, with four goals and three assists among them in the Durand Cup because the side became the first team to defend the title since 1991, this season.
Andy was the striking signing for the Highlanders, while he scored two goals and set up another, including a strike in the final.
The product of Real Madrid Academy has cemented its place in midfield, and his attacking runs on the countertop – even though he is 35 years old – make him a powerful weapon to combine with Star Striker Alaeddine Ajaraie in the front.
Abhishek Singh Tekcham: Punjab FC → Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Abhishek Singh Tekcham, a product from the Minerva Academy, turned his head for the national team just 20 years old under Manolo Marquez, with an impression on Thailand and Hong Kong.
His turnout led to a transfer battle between two Kolkata Giants, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant, where FC Goa later participated in the race. It was Bagan that eventually ensured his services, signed him for a deal of four years, and as a potential successor to Captain Subhasish Bose.
Abhishek, a full-back, can play on both flanks, giving Bagan an effective replacement for Asish Rai in the right-hand position.
In addition, his overlapping runs make him a potential wing-back during counters, one that Jose Molina-de Bagan-Coach-Zal tries to use, after he lost Ashique Kuruniyan he used that he used in a similar role this summer.
Published on September 1, 2025
