*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:30, 17 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:40, 27 November 2023 (UTC)
Sahal was born in Al Ain, UAE, to Malayali parents from Kerala, India and completed his 14 years of schooling at New Indian Model School in Al Ain.[2][3] He started to play football at the age of eight.[4] In 2010, Sahal joined the Al Ethihad Sports Academy to train in professional football. After completing his studies in UAE, he moved to Payyannur in Kannur, Kerala, India, to complete his degree and to play university football. A few months after starting his degree, he was spotted by a coach of SN College in Kannur, who persuaded him to switch colleges. After good performances at university-level tournaments, he joined the district Under-21 side, and then the Kerala team, to compete in the Santosh Trophy.[5]
Kerala Blasters
2017–2018: Kerala Blasters B and senior team debut
Sahal's performance in the 2017 Santosh Trophy was noted by scouts of Kerala Blasters,[5] who signed him to his first ever professional contract and put him on the reserve side for the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division. In the fourth match against FC Kerala, he was appointed as captain for the rest of the season. He scored seven goals from ten games and became third top-scorer in the league.[6] As the senior team was struggling with points in the 2017–18 Season of ISL, manager René Meulensteen decided to promote some youth players, including Sahal, to the senior team.[7] Due to the team's poor performance, Rene was sacked after the match and David James took over for the rest of season.[8] Sahal was not included in the squad for the next five matches but he was called up to side and remained as an unused substitute in next two matches. Sahal debuted for the senior side as a substitute for the former Manchester United player Dimitar Berbatov in the 80th minute of a match against ATK on 8 February 2018, which ended in a draw. He was given another chance in the 90th minute of the match against Bengaluru.[9]
In the 2018–19 season, Sahal was included in the starting 11 of the season opener against ATK on 29 September 2018, which the Blasters won by 2–0.[10] He played in 17 league games during the season, scored his first goal for the club against Chennaiyin on 15 February 2019. Sahal improved his passing capability and made 688 touches during the season.[11] He was one among the top Indian players with most key passes in the season.[12] Despite club's poor campaign in the 2018–19, Sahal enjoyed his breakthrough season and went on to win ISL Emerging Player of the Season.[13] He was also announced as the "AIFF Emerging Player of the Year".[14] On 11 May 2019, Sahal signed a contract extension with Kerala Blasters, which tied him to the club until 2022.[15]
2019–2021: Becoming the club's poster boy
Blasters appointed Eelco Schattorie as the manager in the 2019–20 ISL season.[16] As the season progressed, the team's injury problem became so concerning, Sahal was mostly used as a winger and sometimes as a secondary striker. He started most matches at right-side of the midfield and provided two assists during the season.[17]
Following Sandesh Jhingan's exit from Kerala Blasters in May 2020, Sahal replaced him as the club's poster boy.[18] On 12 August 2020, despite the circulation of rumours about him leaving the club, Sahal committed himself to the Blasters, signing a contract until 2025.[19] On 20 December 2020, Sahal made his comeback from the quads injury, that had sidelined him for a month since his first match on November 20 in the 2020–21 Indian Super League season. He came back as a substitute in the 46th minute and provided an important assist to Jeakson Singh who equalized in a 1–1 draw against East Bengal during the stoppage time.[20] Since that match, Sahal was deployed as a winger by the new manager for the season Kibu Vicuña.[21][22] On 15 January 2021, Sahal won the Hero of the match award in the match against East Bengal which ended in a 1–1 draw.[23] Sahal was once again awarded with the Hero of the match on 27 January 2021 in a 0–0 draw against Jamshedpur.[24] Sahal created 28 chances in his 14 appearances and was second in the list among the Indian players to create most number of chances during the season.[25]
2021–2022: Ending the goalless streak
During the 2021 summer transfer window, ATK Mohun Bagan offered three senior players in exchange for Sahal. But the offer was rejected by Kerala Blasters.[26] He was then included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup,[27] and played his first match in the tournament against Delhi FC on 21 September 2021, which they lost 1–0.[28] Sahal scored his second goal for the club against ATK Mohun Bagan on 19 November in the 2021–22 season opener, which ended in a 4–2 defeat for Kerala Blasters.[29][30] On 19 December, he scored against defending champions Mumbai City, which the Blasters 0–3 after Sahal opened the score-sheet in the 27th minute.[31][32] Sahal scored again in the next match against rivals Chennaiyin on 22 December,[33] where the Blasters won the game 0–3.[34] He scored his fourth goal as well as his third consecutive goal in the season against Jamshedpur on 26 December, which they ended in 1–1 draw.[35][36] He thus became the second Indian player after Sunil Chhetri to score in three consecutive Indian Super League matches.[37] Sahal scored his fifth goal of the season on 2 March 2022 against Mumbai City and helped the Blasters to defeat them 3–1.[38][39] He scored the only goal for the Blasters in the first leg of the semi-final against Jamshedpur on 11 March, which they won 0–1.[40] After the match, Sahal suffered an hamstring injury, which had him missed out from the Blasters' squad in the second leg of the semi-final and the final against Hyderabad FC.[41] At the end of the season, Sahal became the joint-second highest Indian goal-scorer in the league with six goals, sharing the record with Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh. He was the leading Indian goalscorer for the Blasters in the season.[42] He was appreciated by the media and pundits for his performance in the season.[43]
2022–2023: Final season and departure
In June 2022, Kerala Blasters sporting director Karolis Skinkys revealed that IBV Westmannaejar, that plays in the Icelandic top tier league Besta-deild karla, were keen on signing Sahal on a short term loan deal until the end of August. But the deal did not work out in the end due to difficult visa and work permit issues. "We also had an option to loan out Sahal to a Slovakian club until the end of August. But the changes at that club did not allow this to happen"; said Skinkys.[44]
On 5 November, Sahal surpassed Jhingan's record to reach a club record of 79 appearances, in which he also scored a brace in a 3–0 away win against NorthEast United FC.[45][46] On 13 November, Sahal assisted Adrian Luna's opening goal against FC Goa helping in a 3–1 win, which was the first victory for the club against Goa since 2016.[47] He scored his third goal of the season against the southern rivals Chennaiyin on 19 December, where he scored the opening goal of the night but the match ended in a 1–1 draw for both sides.[48] On 8 April 2023, Sahal assisted Nishu Kumar's second goal against RoundGlass Punjab in the first game of 2023 Indian Super Cup, helping in a 3–1 win, which was the first victory for the club in the Indian Super Cup.[49] Sahal played his last match for the Blasters against Bengaluru FC in the Southern Derby on 16 April in the Super Cup as a substitute for Vibin Mohanan in the 90th minute, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[50]
After making 97 appearances and scoring 10 goals and assisting 9 times across all competition for the Blasters over his six years at the club, Sahal left the Blasters for Mohun Bagan SG, after becoming the most-capped Blasters' player at the time of his departure.[51]
Mohun Bagan SG
On 14 July 2023, Kerala Blasters announced the transfer of Sahal to Mohun Bagan SG for an undisclosed transfer fee and in exchange of a player.[52] As per reports, Mohun Bagan approximately paid the Blasters a transfer fee of ₹90 lakhs and exchanged their captain Pritam Kotal to sign Sahal until 2028, making it one of the most expensive transfers in the history of Indian football.[53]
After an impressive 2021–22 season, Sahal made it to the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He scored his second international goal on 11 June 2022 against Afghanistan, where he came in as a substitute for Sunil Chhetri in the last moments of the regular time and scored the winning goal in the added time and helped India win the match 1–2 at full-time.[64][65]
In May 2023, Sahal was included in the final squad for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup by the coach Igor Štimac.[66] On 9 June 2023, he played his first match of the Intercontinental Cup by starting against Mongolia and scored the opening goal in the 2nd minute, as India won the match by the score of 2–0.[67]
Style of play
During his early days at the Blasters, Sahal mainly played as an attacking midfielder or central midfielder and was noted for his dribbling ability and creativity.[68][69][70] Although Sahal initially played as an attacking midfielder, he was later moved to a winger role in the midfield.[71][72] He has also been occasionally used as a defensive midfielder and even as a centre-forward.[73] Sahal is considered as one of the best players in the Kerala Blasters' history.[74] He is regarded as one of the best midfielders in India by many football pundits and fans.[75][76][77][78]
On 10 June 2020, Sahal signed a deal with German multinational sportwear company, Puma, as its new ambassador.[79] In June 2020, Sahal auctioned his national team jersey, which he wore during the World Cup qualifiers. He donated the proceeds of the auction to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to help prevention activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.[80]
In September 2022, Sahal became the Indian ambassador of the global energy drink company, Predator Energy.[81] In June 2022, Sahal got engaged to Reza Farhath, a state-level badminton player and married her in July 2023.[82]
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