Goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem was one of the standout performers of the Indian Under-17 national team which played at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup on October 2017 at home in India.
And his recent performances for the Indian Arrows in the I-League have shown that he has grown even further in confidence and stature.
It is known that Dheeraj was scouted by a number of European clubs during the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup with interest from Motherwell FC (Scotland) and West Ham United (England) own but only on Friday at the post-match press conference after the game against Mohun Bagan, ‘Hero of the Match’ Dheeraj had told the media that he would play out the I-League season and then look at Europe.
Now Dheeraj’s contract with the AIFF runs out tonight and the federation was only willing to sign a new three year contract as with the other players, which Dheeraj saw as a detriment of his European club career ambitions.
Dheeraj can go to trials to Europe, but as per FIFA and European Union legislations, he cannot sign a professional contract before completing the age of 18, which would only happen on July 4, 2018, which means he could sign only for the new 2018/19 season and then there are work permit regulations in the United Kingdom, especially England which could make getting a work permit difficult to impossible.
This is what Dheeraj said on his Facebook page: