Team building is going on full throttle at Jamshedpur FC as the ISL Shield winners on Friday announced the arrival of English forward Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
Having started his career at Arsenal, JET, as he is well known, has loads of experience playing in various clubs in England such as Blackpool, Cardiff City, Ipswich Town, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers.
While he played extensively in England, he also plied his trade in the Scottish league for Aberdeen and Livingston. Barring that he also played for England U17 and U19 teams and will surely feel comfortable playing under JFC’s new English coach Aidy Boothroyd, who have been working with English players throughout his career.
Moreover, this won’t be his first stint in Asia. In 2019 he played in Thailand for PTT Rayong.
"It’s a great feeling to be part of the ISL League Shield winners. It’s now time to rest the accolades from last season and work hard towards the next. Each game is going to be tough, and my goal is to contribute to win as a team while playing exciting football and thrill the incredible fans of Jamshedpur each time we take field," said Emmanuel-Thomas after signing for the Red Miners.
Meanwhile, speaking on the arrival of Emmanuel-Thomas, the new coach said, "JET is a top player with outstanding experience and has played extensively in England as well as Asia. He brings a lot of attacking flexibility and can play in numerous positions which adds firepower to our squad."
The 31-year-old will have new-signing Harry Sawyer giving him company in the attacking third and it will be interesting to see how the duo combine to make a successful pair. While he has been scoring goals throughout his career, his knack of creating chances has also impressed the coach.
"Creating and finishing chances are the strengths JET adds to the team along with a winning mentality. He has a great eye for a good pass and skill full feet to dominate play while taking on opponents," added coach Boothroyd.
A product of the Arsenal’s youth set-up, Emmanuel-Thomas was named captain of the Under-18 side at just 16 years of age. According to his player profile at Arsenal, "He scored seven times in 39 appearances for both the Academy and Reserve teams last season."
