ISL 2018-19: Mumbai City FC sign India U23 midfielder Vignesh Dakshinamurthy

Mumbai City FC have secured the services of Vignesh Dakshinamurthy from Ozone FC for the 2018-19 Indian Super League (ISL), Goal understands.

With an eye on the future, the ISL side have invested in the midfielder who was one of Ozone FC's best performers in the 2018 2nd Divison I-League season, where they reached the final round.

Vignesh has been with the national team's age-group sides for the past three years right from his Under-17 days. He is currently with Stephen Constantine's Under-23 squad which is preparing for the SAFF Championship in Dhaka, starting next week.

'Vigu', as he is fondly known, was a part of the Ozone setup for six years. He spent the first three years in the Ozone Academy and then broke into the first team, aged just seventeen.

The 20-year-old comes from a footballing family and his uncle, Shanmugam Venkatesh is a former India international, who turned out for clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

The Bengaluru native makes his first big-money move in his career but will need to fight it out with the likes of Milan Singh, Sehnaj Singh, Matias Mirabaje and Paulo Machado for game time.

Mumbai City seem to be investing in young talents, having already captured 18-year-old defender Anwar Ali on a long-term contract before loaning him back to the Indian Arrows. Vignesh also looks like a move made with the future in mind.