MUMBAI: In what will be seen as a blow to

clubs, almost all of India's 2017 U-17 World Cup players have signed for Indian Super League (ISL) teams. While many of the players had already signed for

clubs last season, most of them were loaned out to Indian Arrows in the I-League.

Coached by Floyd Pinto, the team mainly comprised the U-17 stars in a move to aid their development and more importantly, give them game time. Come this year though, with a new batch of U-20 players coming in, the players will be back with their ISL clubs (barring

, who Chennaiyin FC have sent on loan to East Bengal & Nongdamba Naorem, who is on loan at Mohun Bagan from Kerala Blasters).

The ongoing, off-field battle going on for league supremacy between the I-League and the ISL hasn't had any bearing on the youngsters, who find the cash-rich league more appealing. Central defender Anwar Ali, who signed for

last season but was on loan to Indian Arrows, told TOI that he didn't hesitate for a second when the team from Mumbai approached him.

"I enjoyed my time playing for Indian Arrows because I knew all the players very well since we were part of the U-17 team. It was great playing in the I-League, but we all spoke about how we wanted to play in the ISL because it's the big league. All the top players are playing in it, so to be competing with them will be great," Ali said.

Apart from the glamour, they've been offered big-money contracts too.

"A defender can be signed for anywhere between Rs 40-60 lakh for a three-year contract. The cost of wingers and strikers are much more, especially big-name players," said a source, referring to players such as U-17 captain Amarjit Singh, who has signed for Jamshedpur FC in a deal worth Rs 1 crore over three years and Komal Thatal, who signed for ATK soon after the World Cup.

It makes huge business sense from the club's perspective too. Mumbai City CEO Indranil Das Blah says that while offering huge contracts to the players shows their belief in them, it's always good to sign a promising youngster.

"We signed Anwar because we really liked the way he played. He's definitely going to get playing time. I can't reveal details of his contract, but if we would've waited for a couple of years to sign him, his asking price would be much higher. And once a youngster gets into the national team, his price could double," Blah said.

The Tata-owned Jamshedpur FC have signed the most U-17 stars, inking a deal with four players including Amarjit. The other three are Jitendra Singh, Narender Gahlot and Aniket Jadhav.

List of players:

BFC:

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Suresh Singh Wangjam

Chennaiyin FC:

Abhijit Sarkar (on loan to East Bengal), Rahim Ali, Hendry Antonay

Jamshedpur:

Jitendra Singh, Narender Gahlot, Aniket Jadhav, Amarjit Singh

Northeast:

Lalengmawia, Ninthoi (winger)

ATK:

Boris Singh, Komal Thatal

Kerala:

Rahul KP, Nongdamba Naorem (on loan to Mohun Bagan), Jeakson Singh

Mumbai:

Anwar Ali