Mohali, Jul 18 (IANS): Punjab FC have extended Luka Majcen's contract by one-year ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 season.

Luka spent the last two seasons with Punjab FC, captaining the side in their debut season of the Indian Super League after they became the first club to be promoted to the ISL from the I-League.

Luka is an experienced striker and his leadership has helped the club to make an impact in the past two seasons. He had an impressive 2023-24 season, scoring eight goals and assisting twice. In the 2022-23 I-League season he scored 16 goals from 20 matches helping the team gain promotion to the ISL and also winning the Hero of the League and Golden Boot awards.

The 35-year-old Slovenian has been plying his trade in Indian football for the past four seasons. He is only the third foreigner to have played in the top three tiers of Indian football. Luka has played for Churchill Brothers, Bengaluru United and Gokulam Kerala before joining Punjab FC in 2022.

Luka started his career with Slovenian side Interblock based in Ljubljana. He has also played for other Slovenian clubs like Rudar Velenje, Koper, Triglav Kranj, Gorcia and Krka before moving to India.

Speaking about the signing, Technical Director of Punjab FC, Nikolaos Topoliatis said, “Luka is a very experienced player and he has a very good understanding of the club and Indian Football. He has performed at the highest level in the past two seasons for us and we felt like he can make an immediate impact this season as well. He was the Captain of the team in the previous season and his leadership skills will prove valuable in and out of the pitch.”