Naorem Mahesh Singh (born 3 March 1999) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

East Bengal FC East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

and the India national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, Singh began his career in his home state with Birchandra Memorial Sporting Club. He soon joined the youth side of

Shillong Lajong Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining st ...

, playing for the club in the

Shillong Premier League The Shillong Premier League (currently known as Officer's Choice Blue Shillong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is a top state-level football league in Indian state of Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from San ...

Shillong Lajong

Prior to the 2018–19 season, Singh was promoted to the first-team. He made his professional debut for

on 28 October 2018 against

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

. He scored a brace, two goals in the 20th and 51st minutes, as Shillong Lajong won 2–1.

Kerala Blasters

In 2018, it was announced that Naorem had signed for the

club Kerala Blasters from

Shillong Lajong F.C. Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining ...

Mahesh was part of Reserve squad of the club. Eventhough he impressed then Blasters assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed, Mahesh never made an appearance for Kerala Blasters. He was loaned out to different clubs during his stint at Blasters.

Sudeva FC (loan)

In 2021, Mahesh was loaned to the

I league The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

side Sudeva Delhi for a season-long deal for getting enough playing time. He made 14 appearances and scored two goals for the club.

East Bengal

On loan from Kerala

Mahesh was loaned to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

based club

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

in 2021. He made 18 appearances and scored 2 goals for them in the

2021–22 Indian Super League season The 2021–22 Indian Super League season is the 8th season of the Indian Super League (ISL) Since its formation and 26th season of the top division of the Indian football league system. The start date and fixtures for the first 11 rounds were a ...

Permanent transfer

On 4 August 2022, Kerala Blasters announced the transfer of Mahesh to East Bengal for an undisclosed transfer fee. On 18 November 2022, he scored against

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

at the Salt Lake Stadium in a 2–4 loss for East Bengal. He bragged man of the match against

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

on 27 November 2022 after becoming the first Indian player to get three assists in a single Indian Super League game. He scored again on 19 February 2023, against the Shield Champions Mumbai City at the

Mumbai Football Arena Mumbai Football Arena is a football stadium in Mumbai, India. It is located in the Andheri Sports Complex. It is one of the only few dedicated football stadiums in the country, which has been hugely appreciated by football pundits and has hoste ...

in a 1–0 win for East Bengal. In the 2023–24 season, Mahesh became runner-up in the

2023 Durand Cup The 2023 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with the Indian Oil Corporation) was the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia, and the second edition since it was supported by the A ...

, and on 23 September 2023, it was announced that Mahesh had signed a three-year extension with East Bengal till 2027. He scored his first goal of the 2023 Indian Super League against

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

on 3 October in a 2–1 defeat away at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. He scored again on 21 October 2023 against

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in a 1–2 loss at the Kalinga Stadium. Mahesh won the

2024 Indian Super Cup The 2024 Super Cup (also known as the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth edition of the Super Cup and the 42nd season of the national knockout football competition in India. Odisha were the defending champions, hav ...

with East Bengal, having returned from the national team in time for the final of the tournament, and provide an assist for

Nandhakumar Sekar Nandhakumar Sekar (born 20 December 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Odisha. Career Sekar made his professional debut in the I-League with Chennai City on 19 February 2017 against ...

as East Bengal won 3–2 against

to end a twelve year wait for a major domestic trophy for the club.

International career

On 14 March 2023, Singh was named amongst the eleven reserves for Indian senior squad for upcoming Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament. Five days later, he was called up to the Indian senior camp for the first time, in place of

Sivasakthi Narayanan Sivasakthi Narayanan (born 9 July 2001) is an Indian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC, Bengaluru. Club career Youth Sivasakthi's yout ...

, who withdrew through an injury. He made his debut against

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

on 22 March, replacing Lallianzuala Chhangte after 70 minutes in a 1–0 victory. Mahesh got his second appearance against

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

on 28 March, replacing Brandon Fernandes after 56 minute in a 2–0 victory. On 24 June 2023, Mahesh got his first goal for the national team against

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

in a 2–0 victory. On 7 September, he scored his second goal in a 2(4)–2(5) semi-final loss against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

at the

2023 King's Cup The 2023 Annual King's Cup Football Tournament ( th, ฟุตบอลชิงถ้วยพระราชทานคิงส์คัพ 2023), commonly referred to as 2023 King's Cup, will be the 49th King's Cup, the annual internationa ...

. On 13 October 2023, Mahesh got his third goal against

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in the

2023 Merdeka Tournament The 2023 Merdeka Tournament was the 42nd edition of the tournament which was organised by the Football Association of Malaysia. The tournament, which featured three participants, took place between 13 and 17 October. Tajikistan emerged as the c ...

in a 2–4 loss in the semi-final.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''India score listed first, score column indicates score after each Singh's goal.''

Honours

India * Tri-Nation Friendly Series:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

SAFF Championship The South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly known as SAFF Championship (previously known as ''South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup'' and ''South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup''), is the main international ...

Kerala Blasters B *

Kerala Premier League Kerala Premier League is a state-level top football league organized by the Kerala Football Association and played in the state of Kerala, India. For sponsorship reasons it is officially known as the Scoreline Kerala Premier League. Structur ...

: 2019–20 East Bengal *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

* Durand Cup runner-up:

Individual *

Emerging Player of the Month: November 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Naorem Mahesh 1999 births Living people Indian men's footballers Footballers from Manipur People from Bishnupur district India men's international footballers Shillong Lajong FC players Men's association football forwards I-League players I-League 2 players Indian Super League players Kerala Blasters FC players Sudeva Delhi FC players Kerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy players 2023 AFC Asian Cup players