Jamshedpur FC completed the signing of foreign players by roping in Scottish forward Greg Stewart.
The 31-year-old striker is the sixth off-shore player for the Tata Steel-owned club. Other international players roped in by the club includes Peter Hartley (United Kingdom), Nerijus Valskis (Lithuania), Alex Lima, Eli Sabia (both from Brazil) and Jordan Murray (Australia). Hartley and Valskis have existing contracts with the club.
An Indian Super League (ISL) franchise is required to sign a maximum six foreign players.
Stewart will make a solid combination with goal machine Valskis and Murray to bolster Jamshedpur's frontline. It remains to be seen as to how head coach Owen Coyle uses him.
“Stewart has already signed and some formalities, including registration, needs to be completed,” said a member of JFC team management who is aware of the development. He will stay with the club for a year.
Stewart spent most of his career playing for the Scottish Premiership, the first division of Scotland football. He started his professional career in Cowdenbeath FC in 2010.
Stewart) bid adieu to Rangers FC in the last week of June. As the Jamshedpur offer came in, without any delay, he chose the ISL side.
As Rangers didn’t offer contract extension, Jamshedpur FC was one of those to have made an offer first and got Stewart's nod.
Playing for Cowdenbeath FC from 2010 to 2014, Stewart played 140 matches and scored 40 goals. Moreover, he also assisted 19 times. Later, moving to Dundee FC in 2014, his goal-scoring streak continued.
Stewart’s impressive performance caught the eyes of the English club Birmingham City FC, and the club went calling him and signed in 2016. Unfortunately, the 2016-17 season was not a fruitful one for the Scottish soccer player, as he came in as a substitute most of the time and scored only six goals in 25 matches. As a return, he was loaned to Aberdeen FC and Kilmarnock FC for two consecutive seasons, respectively.
In 2019, Steven Gerard led side Rangers FC signed Stewart on a two-year deal. Making 33 appearances, he scored three goals and assisted seven times.
Having the experience of playing in the Europa League, Stewart can play multiple positions, which will be a valuable asset for Jamshedpur.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC are busy making travel arrangements for the players, including the foreigners, for the upcoming ISL which kicks-starts in Goa on November 19. The Visas of all six foreign recruits as well as head coach Owen Coyle have already been acquired.
"We are busy making travel arrangements for our players who will be reaching Goa directly in September-end or the first week of October for the pre-seasons," said a JFC official.
Jamshedpur is desperate to make it to the play-offs this time. The outfit finished sixth with 27 points in the last ISL.
