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Kerala Blasters once again failed to lift the Indian Super League title after being handed a 3-0 loss against Bengaluru FC in the playoff match because of the unceremonious walkoff led by head coach Ivan Vukomanovic at Sree Kaneetrava Stadium. After that, the Tuskers also failed to get through the group stages of the Hero Super Cup in their home state, once again losing out to the Blues in the crucial and final group match in Kozhikode. Nevertheless, on a positive not, the Yellow Army managed finish fifth in the ISL standings, despite suffering a number of set backs, including injuries to some of their key players in the defence. Head coach Ivan Vukomanovic did a fine job to get his team over the line with the limited resources available. The Serbian tactician is getting the best out of his current crop and with a bit more quality recruitment they can certainely challenge for the title. Here, we take a look at three positions that need to be fixed during the upcoming transfer period.
Kerala Blasters definitely lacked depth and consistency in the defence this season. Injury to Sandeep Singh and Marko Leskovic and Inconsistency of players like Nishu Kumar, Jessel Carneiro, Harmanjot Khabra and Hormipam Ruivah cost them badly in the second half of the season. Right-back Sandeep suffered a serious foot injury in the middle of the season and returned to training only last month. Jessel (32) and Khabra (34) are not getting any younger and their lack of pace was often exploited by the opposition. Jessel has left the Yellow Army and joined rivals BFC, while Khabra is also looking for a new destination.
Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Kaliuzhnyi was one of Kerala Blasters’s key players in the first half of the season. The 28-year-old helped the Tuskers to dominate in the middle of the park, but the box-to-box midfielder has returned to his parent club FK Oleksandriya after his loan spell in KBFC and is unlikely to return for the next season. Although Jeakson Singh has grow into one of the finest holding midfielders in the country, the 21-year-old needs support. Local boy Vipin Mohan was one of the finds for KBFC towards the end of the campaign, as the 20-year-old playmaker showed glimpses of his flair, passing range and shooting ability. But the youngster is still not a finished product. Vukomanovic needs an attacking midfielder, who can share the duty of Adrian Luna and give them a extra dimension while going forward. They might also be looking for a back up for Jeakson.
With Apostolos Giannou set to leave, Kerala Blasters could be in market to sign a new striker this summer. Dimitrios Diamantakos, who finished the 2022-23 season with ten goals and three assists from 21 ISL games, is the only recognised strike in the squad. Even last season, the 30-year-old often struggled because of lack of support. Therefore the Tuskers would want to bring in a versatile foreign forward, who can switch positions in the attacking department with ease. As per rumours, Blasters are in talk with Ishan Pandita, who is an established Indian striker.
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