ISL: Kerala Blasters speed up chase for Nilmar, Pulga as Berbatov set for exit

With just five league games remaining, Kerala Blasters coach David James is doing everything possible to help the ISL team make it to the knockouts stage.

Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters are doing everything possible to save their season and make sure they qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. Looking into this matter, the two-time ISL finalists are set to part ways with two of their biggest foreign names Dimitar Berbatov and Keziron Kizito owing to their injuries.

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The ISL franchisee are looking at two big names now in the form of Brazilian striker Nilmar and former Kerala Blasters man Victor Pulga, to replace the aforementioned duo. The Indian football side are currently seventh in the ISL points table with five league games to go.

Blasters have had a very difficult season this time around. Everyone expected them to be one of the title favourites owing to the decorated team they lined up with the likes of Berbatov, Wes Brown, CK Vineeth and Sandesh Jhingan, among others coming in. On top of that, famed former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen was roped in as the chief coach of the side.

However, from day 1 itself, the team chemistry of the Kerala Blasters was never visible. The misfortune continued and ultimately, the ISL franchisee had to part ways with Meulensteen with the start of the calendar year 2018.

David James, appointed the chief coach again, may have tried to instill a fresh lease of life into the team but still the defeats persist. At such a critical time, the likes of Berbatov and Kizito are out injured, making matters worse.

Therefore, Nilmar and former KBFC midfielder Pulga remain the two big targets for the team now.

Nilmar, 33, is an experienced goal poacher who has played for the likes of Villarreal and Lyon in the past. The Brazilian forward can also operate as a winger on both flanks.

Spanish midfielder Pulga, 34, meanwhile played for the Blasters in the 2014 and 2015 season. His style of play and the impact he had on the game attracted him a lot of admirers. Pulga was present at the JLN Stadium in Kochi during Kerala Blasters' last game with Delhi Dynamos.