Former Indian striker IM Vijayan has backed East Bengal striker Jobby Justin’s decision to jump ship and move to Kolkata-based Indian Super League (ISL) side ATK.
The Kerala-born forward, who had a tremendous season with Red and Golds this season scoring nine times in 17 I-League matches, signed a pre-contract with ATK back in March. Justin will join the ISL side from the 2019-20 season.
Justin’s decision to leave the Kolkata giants received severe backlash from the East Bengal fans. But Vijayan is in support of the forward’s decision.
Speaking to Goal, the former India captain said, “At the outset, it was I who had asked Jobby to join East Bengal. I had told him then that if he played well in the I-League, there is a good chance he would get offers from ISL.
“Now he received offers from many ISL teams, not just ATK. The important thing for him was to move to a club which would give him first-team opportunities.”
I-League
Vijayan revealed that because East Bengal are still not sure about their participation in ISL, he advised Jobby to move out.
“Since he has played in Kolkata, he will get chances with ATK as the club is familiar with his game. I advised him [while he was considering ATK's offer] that if East Bengal gets to play in the ISL the club would be a better choice even if the money was not as good.
“But we are still unclear as to whether East Bengal will be in the ISL next season. So I think he made the right decision to move to ATK. But he needs to work hard for him to reap the benefits of that decision,” said the former player.
