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What's the story?
Kerala Blasters are currently on their pre-season tour in Marbella, Spain as the players have been put through the paces by new head coach Rene Meulensteen in the state-of-the-art facilities. However, apart from the core group of players for next season's Indian Super League that will don the Blasters yellow, a few new faces have also been seen training and hanging around with the club's players.
One such unknown face that popped up in the Blasters' Spanish retreat is that of Ugandan attacker Kezironi Kizito.
In case you didn't know...
Kerala Blasters signed only seven foreigners for the 2017-18 ISL instead of filling the quota of eight, with reports emerging that the club will look for reinforcements mid-season when the January window opens.
The heart of the matter
The Sachin Tendulkar co-owned team have already beaten Athletic de Coin 1-0 in their first pre-season friendly in Spain and all their key players have joined the touring party. While the big foreign signings like Iain Hume, Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown are slogging it out in sunny Spain, the India internationals CK Vineeth, Sandesh Jhingan and Jackichand Singh arrived late due to international commitments.
Kizito was spotted with the Blasters players Mark Sifneos, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and Courage Pekuson in the stands during a La Liga match between Malaga and Leganes on Sunday which finished 2-0 to the away side at La Rosaleda.
The teenage striker plied his trade for Kenyan outfits Tusker FC, SC Vipers and AFC Leopards but sources close to the player's agent have reported that the player also had a trial with Kerala Blasters. It is unconfirmed when he will link up with the Blasters, if at all he does.
Having already roped in Hume, Sifneos, Pekuson and Berbatov as foreign forwards, it remains to be seen where Kizito fits in at Blasters. Everything is speculation at the moment, with official confirmation the only reliable source.
What's next?
The 2017-18 ISL kickstarts on 17th November with Kerala Blasters taking on rivals ATK in the curtain raiser. ISL-4 promises to be bigger and better than ever before, and Kerala Blasters will look to make it third time lucky after falling at the final hurdle in two of the past three seasons.
Author's take
While spotting a particular player with members of another team is no big surprise, Kerala Blasters' empty eighth foreign spot gives us room for speculation. According to multiple reports, Kizito has played for three clubs this calendar year, therefore it remains to be seen how close he is to being a Blaster.
