Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Indian Super League (ISL) franchise has signed former Manchester United and Aston Villa mid-fielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, who appeared for the St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Djemba-Djemba was the free-agent and the ISL franchise roped-in Cameroonian medio, along with Haitian and former Paris-Saint Germain striker Jean Maurice Edu. Both Djemba-Djemba and Maurice are expected to join the Chennai-based team next week.
The franchises are not permitted to sign any player during the tournament but the ISL allowed the MS Dhoni co-owned team to include Djemba-Djemba and Maurice Edu, following the departure of Eduardo Silva Lerma and Pierre Tillman.
“We are happy to sign Djemba-Djemba and Maurice,” Marco Materazzi, Chennaiyin FC manager-player said. “Both are top players and will add plenty of quality and experience to our team. We are also sad that Tillman and Eduardo are leaving and wish them well for the future.”
Djemba-Djemba, who played two seasons for the Premier League giants Manchester United, has represented Cameroon 24 times, including the FIFA World Cup in 2002. He has experience of playing top-tier football in Qatar, Denmark, Israel and Serbia.
Meanwhile, Maurice started his youth career in the USA but moved to France for pursuing professional career. He is a current member of the Haiti national team and played in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
