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Kerala Blasters have strengthened their backline with their latest signing, as French defender Cyril Kali has joined the Kochi-based franchise ahead during the ongoing summer transfer window.
Kerala Blasters have had a miserable season in the Indian Super League in the 2017/18 campaign, finishing sixth in the league. This was in stark contrast to the 2016 or the 2014 season, when they Kochi-based outfit finished as runners-up.
The Blasters already have captain Sandesh Jhingan at the heart of their defence, and now seem to have added an able partner to the Indian national team regular.
At the age of 34, Kali is an experienced customer, who is expected to have a calming effect on the Blasters' back line. Manager David James has already shown the affinity to field a strong back-four, and along with Jhingan, Kali could just give the former Liverpool man the stability he is looking for.
The Frenchman has the experience of playing in three different countries in this career so far, and will now add the subcontinental nation of India to his CV, with this move to the Blasters.
Having started off in the youth setup of AJ Auxerre, Kali went on to graduate to the B team, before making the move to LOSC Lille B. After spending two and a half seasons at Lille, Kali made the move to Danish club Lillestrom SK, before spending the last decade in Greece.
Most recently, Kali had played for Greek side Apollon Pontou, a club that had signed him back in August 2017.
Sandesh Jhingan has been the set centreback at Kerala Blasters last season, and had been partnered by the likes of Nemanja Lakic-Pesic and former Manchester United man We Brown. If Kali is indeed to replace either of these two as the regular centreback beside Jhingan, it would be interesting to see how the Frenchman fits into David James' system.
