A new Indian Super League (ISL) season is upon us, at long last. There’s a new team added to the league’s roster, with last year’s I-League winners Inter Kashi now making it a 14-team affair.
This season, the foreign players in the league really are ones to keep an eye on, because unlike in seasons past, not every club has filled their quota of six foreigners.
So, with that in mind, who are those foreign players who could have a big impact on their team’s chances in ISL 2026?
You could make a decent argument for Maclaren now being the best player in the ISL ahead of the new season. Last season, he scored 12 league goals, including the winner in the final for Mohun Bagan against Bengaluru FC.
With the experience of that season behind him, he should only be better. Sergio Lobera will also not have Bagan play the way that Jose Molina did. So that could only mean more chances for Maclaren, and since he’s a clinical finisher, that Golden Boot trophy at the end of the season could well be in his sights.
Of course, Maclaren isn’t just a finisher. He’s a superb link-up player as well, and that will have the likes of Jason Cummings, Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh licking their lips too.
Drazic is one of only two foreigners who remain at FC Goa, alongside Pol Moreno from the squad that won the Super Cup in December and played in the AFC Champions League 2 qualifier and group stages.
Drazic’s goal against Oman‘s Al Seeb put Goa on their way to the group stages, and now, he’ll have to take on an even bigger responsibility. There’s no Iker Guarrotxena, no Javi Siverio, no Borja Herrera, so Drazic is certainly the leader. Drazic scored six times in the ISL last season as Goa made the semifinal where they lost to Bengaluru FC. He was their best player in the second leg of that semifinal too, where a last-minute Sunil Chhetri goal broke Goan hearts.
Now, with the likes of Brison Fernandes, Muhammed Nemil and Udanta Singh making up the rest of the Goa attack, Drazic will certainly have to better his tally of six goals from the last ISL season for Goa to have a chance of challenging the likes of Bagan at the top of the table. He’s certainly capable of doing so.
Bertomeu has an enviable task ahead of him in the ISL this season. The Spaniard slots into the Kerala Blasters side with the hope of replicating what Adrian Luna did for them in the last few seasons. With the talismanic Uruguayan out on loan in Indonesia, the Blasters have put their faith in Bertomeu.
The Spaniard’s foray into the ISL isn’t his first in Asia. He’s played for Eastern in Hong Kong and Gresik United in Indonesia. He’s also had spells in the lower divisions in Spain and Italy. The 33-year-old has had a decent goalscoring run in his time in Asia though.
He has scored 20 goals in 45 games combined for Eastern and Gresik United, and the Blasters will hope that he can replicate those exploits for them this season.
Based on the evidence of what we saw in the Super Cup, where East Bengal lost in the final, Rashid is the base around which Oscar Bruzon will build his team. He’s a good passer to start off their attacks and showed that he is a very good defensive midfielder as well.
With Saul Crespo‘s fitness being uncertain through the course of last season, East Bengal struggled without having that solidity in midfield, which at times made them too porous and easy to play through.
Rashid is an experienced player in Asian Football, and with experience at big Indonesian clubs like Persib Bandung and Persebaya Surabaya, he’s no stranger to having to deal with big expectations, which no doubt will be on his shoulders from the expectant East Bengal fans in Kolkata.
He has more than 50 caps for Palestine at international level too, having represented them at the last two AFC Asian Cups. Rashid brings pedigree and class and East Bengal will need every bit of those as they look to take the fight to city rivals Mohun Bagan at the top of the ISL this season.
One of the ISL’s most watchable midfield players, Noguera has made the journey from Bengaluru to Chennai to take on a new role of being the creative spark for Clifford Miranda’s Chennaiyin FC.
Last season, Noguera was the player around whom Gerard Zaragoza built Bengaluru FC’s run to the final. Yes, that front three of Ryan Williams, Sunil Chhetri and Edgar Mendez were fearsome to deal with, but it was really Noguera who made them tick on the field.
Miranda certainly likes his teams to play attacking football with passing through midfield. If Chennaiyin are to repeat their successes of the early ISL seasons, it cannot happen without Noguera starring in their midfield.
