Laced with big money and millions of followers and fans, the Premier League is easily the most recognisable brand in modern day football. As the top flight of English football makes one jump after another, featuring in a squad playing in the Premier League has become harder and more exclusive by the day.
Until now, no Indian player has ever graced a Premier League pitch, but the current Indian national team goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, could easily have been the first had things fallen into place in 2014.
The then-Everton manager, Roberto Martinez, retained an interest in Gurpreet after the Spaniard took the goalkeeper on trial when he was at the helm of Wigan Athletic. After moving to the Goodison Park hot-seat in 2013, Martinez wanted to sign Gurpreet but the former East Bengal shot-stopper ended up moving to Norwegian club Stabaek instead.
A jump too high
From the outside, it seems Gurpreet didn’t make the most of a rare Premier League opportunity with Everton, but the 25-year-old himself admits that moving to the highest level in England from the highest level in India was a jump too high.
In a chat with Sportskeeda, the India number one tells about the interest from Everton which was real and why he took a different route into European football: “There was an interest from them [Everton] which is true, but at that point of time I don’t think I was a ready product or I was at that level of making that higher jump.”
Gurpreet is now in his third year at Tippeligaen outfit Stabaek, where he was signed by the former USA and Swansea City manager, Bob Bradley. He has already become the first Indian to play a European top flight game and start a Europa League game.
His career progression while at Stabaek has vindicated his decision to choose the lesser lights of Norwegian football than the hype machine of the Premier League. Back then, he was only 22, a fairly young age for a goalkeeper, hence his desire to build his game step by step to become the finished article of a higher, Premier League standard is commendable.
“I chose Norway because I wanted to build my game and become a finished product and then try going for the next step,” Gurpreet added.
Now 25, Gurpreet still has enough time in his hands to perfect the art of his trade, and there will, in the future, be a time when we see him lining up in a Premier League match or pick him in fantasy football teams.
Also read: Interview: Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu doesn't rule out a potential Premier League move
Work permit issues persist
However, it is not as straightforward for someone from India to make the step up to Premier League football. As with the case with Sunil Chhetri in 2009 where the striker signed a three-year deal with Queens Park Rangers only to face a roadblock due to work permit issues, any move into the Premier League for Gurpreet will also have comparable designs.
There is a FIFA rankings yardstick to follow whenever any international transfer is concerned in the Premier League. That has a lower limit of 50, and India is not coming close to that 50-rank mark anytime soon. The Blue Tigers currently sit in 101st in the FIFA rankings, a 17-year high. Closing in on the 50-rank mark is as difficult as qualifying for a World Cup for a nation whose highest-ever FIFA ranking so far has been 94, achieved back in 1996.
Gurpreet could also have faced similar issues to Chhetri had negotiations with Everton gone the distance. As of now, what would have happened had the talks with the Toffees turned more serious is anyone’s guess and Gurpreet corroborates that.
“Regarding the work permit, I don’t know what would have happened if the conversation with them [Everton] would’ve got more serious and concrete. But I was very close to starting negotiations with them.”
Gurpreet’s focus is now on Stabaek, where he plays second fiddle to first-choice goalkeeper Sayouba Mande. Three matches into the 2017 season, he hasn’t played a single Eliteserien game so far, but he is expected to get more chances as the season wears on.
Featuring in a Europa League match is no small feat for an Indian player, but the sacrifices that Gurpreet made on the way bears testament to his belief in his own abilities.
“Everton wanted to sign me and had plans to send me on loan to Spain due to work permit issues, but Stabaek was my first choice,” he was quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo in 2016, stating his urge to improve himself before making the big leap.
If he carries on at the same rate, it will only be a matter of time before we see the six-feet-four custodian grace the bright lights of the Premier League, or the Champions League, in the near future.
Also read: 5 things that could have happened if: Lionel Messi played for India
