ISL 2026-27: Five Bengaluru FC players to watch as season begins on October 10
Bengaluru FC head into the Indian Super League 2026-27 at their Kanteerava base with a retooled squad and five players singled out as ones to watch, as the campaign opens on 10 October. Pep Muñoz, who replaced Renedy Singh in late March with limited preparation, still guided the side to fourth place in a 13-match run that yielded 23 points, three fewer than champions East Bengal.
Muñoz took charge with no pre-season, no signings and “barely a fortnight to put a stamp on the side,” yet Bengaluru closed the previous phase with back-to-back wins. The club has used the summer to rebuild, signing five foreign players while retaining most of its Indian core, although Rahul Bheke departed for Mohun Bagan SG. For context, Bengaluru’s most recent piece of silverware remains the Durand Cup in 2022-23.
Menno Koch brings European experience and size to Bengaluru’s defence. The 32-year-old Dutch centre-back is a PSV Eindhoven academy graduate who won the Under-17 European Championship with the Netherlands and was part of PSV’s 2014-15 Eredivisie-winning squad; he arrives after his Sarpsborg 08 contract expired in June. Koch made 54 Eliteserien appearances from 2024 to 2026, spent three-and-a-half seasons at CSKA Sofia where he captained the side in 62 league games scoring six goals and lifted the 2021 Bulgarian Cup, and has had spells at NAC Breda, Utrecht and Eupen; at 1.95m he joins Bengaluru for his first move outside Europe. Muñoz has highlighted Koch’s physicality and passing range as attributes that fit the club’s build-from-the-back approach, while the club’s recruitment adds Koch and Embaló as centre-back options alongside the younger Palande and following Bheke’s exit.
Manuel de Iriondo is presented as a midfield screen and link capable of anchoring Muñoz’s preferred 4-2-3-1. The 33-year-old Argentine arrives from Krasava ENY Ypsonas after playing roughly 1,765 league minutes across 23 matches in the 2025-26 Cypriot First Division, starting 20 times. His résumé includes six years at Unión de Santa Fe and a season with Grenoble in France’s Ligue 2, plus spells in Romania, Spain and Cyprus, and two seasons at Ethnikos Achna where he scored eight goals in about 60 appearances. Muñoz described Iriondo as a midfielder who understands “when to press, when to hold, and how to connect the team,” and the club expects him to sit in front of the back four, win second balls and keep possession ticking in one of the holding roles.
Suresh Singh Wangjam remains a key domestic figure after joining Bengaluru from the Indian Arrows pathway in 2019. Now one of the longest-serving Blues with well over 100 ISL appearances, Suresh can operate as a six or as an eight and is valued for energy, mobility and ability in tight spaces; he is 5ft 5in. The club’s review flagged 2025-26 as a step back for him despite playing all 13 games the previous season and scoring once, and the pairing between Suresh and a deeper, more controlling partner is presented as central to midfield balance under Muñoz.
Ryan Williams offers goal threat and wing penetration after a career across English and Australian clubs including Portsmouth, Fulham, Barnsley, Oxford United, Rotherham and Perth Glory. The 32-year-old right winger, who relinquished Australian citizenship to represent India, scored four minutes after coming on in his India debut against Hong Kong in Kochi in 2026 — the fastest goal by an Indian debutant — and was Bengaluru’s joint-top ISL scorer last season with four goals from 12 appearances (1,032 minutes), adding two more in the Super Cup. He also scored twice for India in 2026 and the previous year produced seven goals and four assists as Bengaluru reached the ISL final; the club expects him to provide a secondary source of goals and width on the right.
Mihailo Perović arrives as a physical focal point up front. The Montenegrin striker has played in six countries and joins from Persebaya Surabaya after scoring six goals and providing one assist in the 2025-26 Indonesian Super League; he has also earned seven caps and scored once for Montenegro. Muñoz labelled Perović “an intense, physical and imposing striker who is, above all, a team player,” projecting him as the lone nine in a 4-2-3-1 who can hold the ball, win aerial duels and create space for runners such as Williams and Borja Martínez while sharing the physical workload with the 42-year-old Chhetri.
The new campaign kicks off on 10 October; Bengaluru’s early fixtures will put their summer recruitment and the retained Indian core, including the five players profiled, into competitive action as the club aims to convert the rebuild into results and challenge for honours beyond its last trophy in 2022-23.
