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Kerala Blasters have splashed a huge amount in this ISL season to get some star players in their squad. The two-time finalists have signed some big names like Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown this season as they try to get hold of the silverware they lost two times.
Kerala Blasters had some good players for last three seasons, helping them to reach the finals in 2014 and 2016 season. They had a season to forget in 2015 as they finished last. Let us take a look at the players who the Blasters will miss the most.
#5 Antonio German
The young English player Antonio German had been with the Kerala based side for two seasons. The 25-year-old player had a lot of experience from England and partnered players like Michael Chopra, CK Vineeth and Kervens Belfort in the Yellow Army's forward line. The attacker played 20 games for the Blasters and scored 6 goals in the two seasons.
#4 Kervens Belfort
Kervens Belfort, the 25-year-old Haitian player, was a part of the Kerala Blasters for the 2016 season and helped them reach finals in the season. Partnering with German, CK Vineeth and Michael Chopra, Belfort helped in creating a fast attacking game for the Blasters.
From the 15 games that he played for the Kerala Blasters, he scored 3 goals. This season the Haitian has moved to the new entrants Jamshedpur FC, as the Blasters signed star strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Iain Hume. However, it would be interesting to see how the Blasters fare without Belfort this season.
#3 Aaron Hughes
The 38-year-old Irish International was the captain for Blasters in 2016 as they reached the finals. Hughes had played for Newcastle, Aston Villa, Fulham etc before coming to India. The tall defender partnered with Hengbart at the heart of the defence and helped to neutralise any form of attacking threats.
Hughes joined Scottish side Heart of Midlothian for the 2017 season and the Blasters will miss the strong leader at the back. Hughes' role in defence has now been taken over by Indian national team centreback Sandesh Jhingan, who was handed the captain's armband before the start of the season.
#2 Cédric Hengbart
The tall, strong French defender helped Kerala Blasters reach the finals on two occasions, and Cédric Hengbart had a very important part to play in both seasons. The 38-year-old French defender showed no fear while going in for tough tackles, and was a boss in neutralizing aerial threats.
However, he could not win the ISL title on any occasion as Kerala Blasters lost both their 2014 and 2016 finals against Atletico de Kolkata (now known as ATK). Cédric Hengbart played 26 games for the Yellow Brigade and the Blasters will miss this important defender this season.
#1 Josu
The Barcelona youth product was a fan-favourite during his time with the Kerala Blasters. The versatile footballer played in the midfield and attacking line up, and also as a left back in the 2016 season. He showed all the qualities of being a La Masia academy, as he helped the team reach the finals last season. Unfortunately, he is also one of those Kerala Blasters legends, who could not win the title with them, after they lost the final to ATK.
The fans where sad when Josu announced he won't be coming back this season and will be missed by the Blasters
