Mumbai City FC has announced the permanent signing of 25-year-old midfielder Vinit Rai following his loan spell.
Rai will now extend his stay at the Club after putting pen to paper on a one-year contract with the Islanders.
The Assam-born midfielder initially joined the Islanders in January 2022 on loan from Odisha FC and made 14 appearances for the club across all competitions, including in Mumbai City FC’s historic 2022 AFC Champions League campaign.
Mumbai City loaned Vinit for another year, with the midfielder continuing with the Islanders for the 2022-23 season. Vinit played an influential role in the Islanders’ record-breaking ISL Shield win, featuring 11 times and scoring two spectacular goals against Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United FC.
“I am thrilled to extend my journey with Mumbai City for another year. The learning and experiences I’ve had in my time here have helped me grow a lot. Coach Des, his staff and everyone here has supported me wholeheartedly and I am determined to help the club achieve success just like we did last season,” said Vinit in a statement.
“I feel privileged to be part of this remarkable team and I’m ready to continue working hard for this badge and our fans,” he added.
A product of the Tata Football Academy (TFA), Vinit started his ISL career in 2016 and has played a total of 90 league games so far, featuring for Kerala Blasters, now defunct Delhi Dynamos, and Odisha FC before joining the Islanders.
“Vinit has shown his qualities with us over the past two seasons and will be an important player for us going into next season. He has been patient and worked extremely hard and learned how we want him to play and is an extremely positive player in our environment,” said Des Buckingham, Head Coach, Mumbai City FC.
“I am very happy that Vinit will continue his development with us for another season and look forward to him contributing even more as we look towards an exciting campaign,” he added.