Three midfield options Clifford Miranda could use to integrate Nikola Stojanovic at Chennaiyin FC
Chennaiyin FC coach Clifford Miranda could deploy new signing Nikola Stojanovic in three different midfield configurations as the club prepares for the 2026/27 season, Khel Now reported on 25 August 2026. The article outlines tactical roles Miranda might assign to Stojanovic to maximise his varied skill set.
Chennaiyin have begun a squad rebuild after a poor 2025/26 campaign and a run of disappointing seasons, retaining Miranda with a multi-year extension despite an unsatisfactory first season in charge. The club released multiple first-team players, including all last season’s foreign signings, and have been active in the transfer market, officially signing several new players and extending contracts for others.
Stojanovic has been in Indian football since June 2021, when he signed for Mohammedan SC in the I-League; he spent two years there, won the Calcutta Football League and finished just behind Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-League title race. He then had a short stint at Gokulam Kerala FC before joining Antonio Lopez Habas’s Inter Kashi for the 2024-25 season, where he scored nine goals in 22 games—the most for his club that campaign—and helped secure the I-League title.
He moved to Jamshedpur FC afterwards, signing for Owen Coyle for the truncated season, and played a key role in their push for the 2025-26 ISL title by starting 12 of 13 games and registering four goal contributions while operating in a midfield pivot. Stojanovic also filled a more advanced midfield role at times for Jamshedpur when Madih Talal was injured, creating multiple chances and taking dangerous shots from around the edge of the box, and he has registered 32 goal contributions in the I-League.
Stojanovic’s profile combines physical defensive ability with an extended passing range: he is described as a deep-lying midfielder who can win defensive actions, dictate tempo, and display positional awareness. His late runs into the box have yielded important goals, and he poses a set-piece threat with an accurate left foot capable of delivering crosses and scoring from free kicks.
The first tactical option Khel Now presents is a deeper midfield pivot pairing Stojanovic with Ayush Chhetri, which would provide Chennaiyin with two advanced passers to build through the centre. In this setup Stojanovic could act as a third defender in possession and as a destroyer out of possession by using his interception and blocking skills, while Chhetri would have greater freedom to play forward; a foreign playmaker such as Maheson Singh could then be pushed higher to operate around the edge of the box.
A second option is to field two number eights behind a traditional number nine, bringing Stojanovic into more advanced positions where his line-breaking passes and composure in the final third could serve the wide attackers. That arrangement would allow him to make late runs into the box and drift into wider areas to supply crosses, and it could permit Glan Martins to occupy a deeper midfield role; Khel Now notes this may be the least preferred of the scenarios for Miranda.
As an alternative, Stojanovic could be used as an attacking midfielder if other options are unavailable or teammates are out of form; he previously played a similar advanced role at Jamshedpur when Madih Talal was injured and produced chance-creating performances. In that position he could exploit his physical strength to shield the ball, his one-touch and line-breaking passing, aerial ability on late runs into the box, and his record of goal contributions in the I-League.
Miranda remains in charge of Chennaiyin FC for the 2026/27 season after leading the club last season, and the club have signed four foreign players so far in the current transfer window: Nikola Stojanovic, Madih Talal, Emmanuel Imanishimwe and Nuno Reis.