Kerala Blasters FC kick-started their preparations for Hero Indian Super League Season 3 by confirming the re-signing of Antonio German, Josu Currias, Sandesh Jhingan, Sandip Nandy, Mohammed Rafi, Mehtab Hossain and Gurwinder Singh on Friday.Kerala Blasters FC CEO Viren D’Silva welcomed their re-signings to the club. "We are happy to welcome Antonio German, Josu Currais Preito, Sandesh Jhingan, Sandip Nandy, Mohammed Rafi, Mehtab Hossain and Gurwinder Singh back into the Kerala Blasters family,” D’Silva said.The Blasters appointed Steve Coppell as their head coach for the third season last month and have now followed it up with the re-signing of key individuals and performers from last season. The foreign players re-signed by Kerala Blasters include striker German and midfielder Josu, while Jhingan, Nandy, Rafi, Hossain and Gurwinder all feature amongst the domestic players re-signed by the men in yellow.German returning to Kerala for the new season comes as no real surprise after his first season exploits saw the young Englishmen finish as their joint top-scorer (six goals) with Chris Dagnall even though he played four fewer matches. The 24-year-old striker was equally effective when setting up his teammates and had three assists to his name last year.Josu was another influential figure for the Blasters last season and will again assume the responsibility of being Kerala’s chief playmaker. He topped the assists chart for Kerala along with German last year and completed 387 passes – the second best by any Kerala player. Josu also scored one of Kerala Blasters’ best goals last season when he netted a stunning left-footed volley from the edge of the penalty area against NorthEast United FC.Josu is set to partner Hossain, who was the linchpin in Kerala’s midfield and played 13 matches for them. He completed more passes (529) than any other Kerala player and also provided an assist along the way.Kerala also chose to keep a familiar back line by securing the services of keeper Nandy and defenders Jhingan and Gurwinder. Nandy made two appearances, while Gurwinder took the field on three occasions for Kerala last season.Jhingan is also set to don the yellow jersey for the third consecutive year after his ISL Emerging Player of League performances in Season 1 made him a defensive mainstay for the Blasters last year. The 22-year-old Indian centre-back completed 26 tackles, 15 headers and 10 interceptions for his side last season.Lastly, Rafi was re-signed on the back of four goals and two assists for his team in Season 2. The veteran striker, who caused several headaches for opposition defences last year, is a serious threat in the air both from crosses and set-pieces. He also scored a stunning brace in a 3-2 loss to FC Pune City last season.
