ISL side Kerala Blasters set to sign five Indian players as Al Fursan era begins

New owners move quickly on recruitment, with Mohammed Sanan, Amrinder Singh, Sahil Tavora, Ramhlunchhunga and Mohammed Yasir all set to join.

Kerala Blasters are set to complete the signings of five Indian players, with defender Aiban Dohling also signing a new contract ahead of ISL-Indian Super League 2026-27 season, Khel Now can reveal.

Mohammed Sanan, Amrinder Singh, Sahil Tavora, Ramhlunchhunga and Mohammed Yasir are all expected to join, with the club racing to complete the paperwork so the group can begin pre-season under head coach Ashley Westwood.

The recruitment follows the club’s ownership change. Kerala Blasters announced on September 29 that UAE-based consortium Al Fursan had taken over, acquiring 100 per cent of the club from Magnum Group. Al Fursan is led by Sheikh Ahmad bin Faisal Al Qasimi, with Dr Dunston Pereira as director, and works with Ofioh Sports as its operational partner.

Until the takeover was completed, the Blasters had been unable to move in the market and were the only ISL club yet to make a signing for the new season.

Khel Now also understands the club remains in talks with four foreign players and expects to complete those signings.

Mohammed Sanan, the headline arrival

Sanan is the most sought-after of the group. The winger drew interest from several ISL clubs after Jamshedpur FC’s withdrawal from the competition left their squad available.

Khel Now understands the Tata Group have agreed to pay approximately ₹80 lakh to settle the remaining two years of his Jamshedpur contract. The Kerala-born winger is set to sign a three-year deal with the Blasters worth around ₹75 lakh a year.

Sanan has spent his entire ISL career at Jamshedpur, making 57 league appearances with 43 starts and seven goals across three seasons. He played 13 matches in 2025-26 and scored twice, both in a 4-1 win over Chennaiyin FC inside the opening 58 minutes.

He was also named in India’s squad for the high-profile friendlies against Brazil, Panama and Uruguay.

Sahil Tavora brings experience in midfield

Tavora brings considerable ISL experience from spells with Mumbai City, Hyderabad FC, Punjab FC and FC Goa. He has made 109 league appearances, scoring four goals and providing two assists.

At FC Goa in 2025-26, he played eight matches, starting seven, and scored once, in a 2-0 win over Mumbai City in April.

His most memorable moment came against his prospective employers. In the 2021-22 ISL final, Tavora struck an 88th-minute equaliser for Hyderabad FC against Kerala Blasters, rescuing his side from a 1-0 deficit. The match went to extra time and then a shootout, which Hyderabad won 3-1 to claim their first ISL title.

Amrinder Singh comes in to fill the void in goal

Amrinder Singh has been playing in the ISL for more than a decade, with spells at Mumbai City, Bengaluru FC, ATK Mohun Bagan (now Mohun Bagan Super Giant) and Odisha FC.

Singh was central to Mumbai City’s 2020-21 League Winners Shield and title double, keeping 10 clean sheets in 23 matches. For Odisha in 2025-26, he featured in eight matches, playing all 720 minutes, keeping one clean sheet and making 16 saves.

Ramhlunchhunga brings dynamism on the wing

The 25-year-old winger arrives from Sporting Club Delhi, the club he joined as Hyderabad FC in 2022.

Ramhlunchhunga came through at Aizawl FC, where he made his professional debut in January 2020 against Gokulam Kerala and played 32 matches, scoring three. A loan spell at Sreenidi Deccan in 2022-23 brought two goals and six assists in 22 league games.

He made his ISL debut in November 2023 and scored his first goal in the competition three months later against Bengaluru FC. He has since made 44 appearances in the ISL, scoring five, and his career record across all competitions stands at 102 matches and 10 goals.

Mohammed Yasir

Yasir has been in the ISL since 2017-18, with spells at Hyderabad FC, FC Pune City and FC Goa. He has 114 league appearances, 10 goals and 14 assists.

He made 10 appearances for FC Goa in 2025-26 and scored once before moving to train with the club’s reserves.

Aiban Dohling stays on

Dohling is the one member of the group already at the club. The defender has 93 ISL appearances and three goals across spells with FC Goa and Kerala Blasters, and featured in nine matches for the Blasters in 2025-26, playing 634 minutes.

He is set to sign a new contract rather than arrive as a new signing.

Racing the calendar

The ISL 2026-27 season begins on October 10, with Kerala Blasters opening their campaign a day later, away to Inter Kashi on October 11. That leaves the club a narrow window to register the group and get them working under Westwood.

Westwood took charge in March 2026, replacing David Català, and steered the club through the back end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The schedule does not help. The Blasters play seven of their 12 Phase 1 matches away from home and open with two on the road before their first game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi against Mumbai City FC on October 25.

Several of the new arrivals face former clubs early. Ramhlunchhunga meets Sporting Club Delhi in Kochi on December 10, Tavora and Yasir go back to FC Goa on November 29, and Amrinder returns to Odisha FC on December 20.