Should East Bengal retain Cleiton Silva?

Cleiton Silva has played a crucial role for East Bengal upfront.

Cleiton Silva is East Bengal’s top-scorer for their 2023-24 Indian Super League (ISL) season. He featured in 21 of their 22 matches, scoring eight goals and providing three assists. To add to that, he also scored five goals in their Super Cup-winning campaign.

However, there remain question marks around the Brazilian’s long-term future with the Kolkata giants. That is because East Bengal are planning to revamp their overseas core for next season. Madih Talal has already agreed to join them next season. More foreign signings are soon expected to be finalized.

This has left a big decision on the management whether Cleiton should be retained for the 2024-25 season. Silva’s current deal is set to expire at the end of May and if he wants to stay beyond that, he must agree on a new contract with the Red & Gold Brigade.

Here we look at reasons to keep the 37-year-old and vice versa.

Reasons to keep him

Leadership quality

Cleiton acted as an admirable leader for East Bengal in the 2023-24 season and was able to put Carles Cuadrat’s instructions to effect. The Brazilian forward was an inspiring figure in the frontline, scoring goals in key matches and winning them many points.

He’s also a vocal, motivational personality on the pitch which helped raise the performance of his teammates in crucuial matches. East Bengal doesn’t exactly have enough experienced leaders apart from Cleiton to drive them forward, which is why releasing him can cause issues.

Versatility

Despite his age, Cleiton has the ability to slot into different roles and be a team player. In the 2023-24 season, the Brazilian was able to play in multiple areas. He normally played as a centre-forward for the Red & Gold Brigaders but also operated as a no #10 or a left-winger if necessary.

Any coach values versatility and adaptability in their players, and Cleiton has shown the dedication to play anywhere Cuadrat needs him to. This means Silva can perhaps be moved into a different role for next season and will willingly look to help his team from that position. His ability to work for the team is a reason why Cleiton could be kept for another season, albeit in a rotational role.  

Reasons to let him go

Goal-scoring inconsistency

Cleiton did get 11 goal contributions in the 2023-24 ISL for East Bengal. But the reality is that these weren’t exactly on a consistent basis. Silva couldn’t score goals in back-to-back matches and his goals came in patches. He only scored three goals in the second leg of the ISL season, lacking the consistency to push his side to a playoff spot.

Cleiton was only able to get goal contributions in back-to-back matches twice this season, but that mostly came as assists. Moreover, quite a few of Cleiton’s goal came from penalties or free-kicks and he lacks that ruthlessness in finishing off open-play chances, having a poor 17.02% goal conversion rate in the ISL. This cost East Bengal last season and is a reason why the Kolkata heavyweights should look for a reliable, consistent goal-poacher to replace Silva.

Age factor

At the end of the day, the reality is that Cleiton is 37. He has enjoyed a pretty decorated career but it’s unreasonable to expect a 37-year-old to produce full-throttle football and be jam-packed with energy. If East Bengal want to play an expansive style of football where they’d want to press the opposition players starting from the frontline, they will probably need someone younger. Cleiton also tends to switch off in many games, lacking the proper output or work-rate that is needed to inspire a frontline.

He averaged just 30 passes per game in the 2023-24 season with a 78% accuracy, often giving possession away to lure trouble. Silva might be full of hunger, but he doesn’t have the legs or endurance levels to continue churning out top-quality performances day in and day out. Hence, if East Bengal want a forward who can improve the overall quality of the link-up play of their attacks, show more energy and score goals more consistently – they’d probably need to find a younger upgrade to Cleiton.

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