ISL 2020-21: Kerala Blasters and Sandesh Jhingan part ways

As per reports emerging on Tuesday evening, arguably, Indian football's best centre back Sandesh Jhingan has severed ties with Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Kerala Blasters after playing for the club for six seasons.

https://twitter.com/MarcusMergulhao/status/1262786751560445953

As reported by us, the Blasters are in a severe financial crunch and were unable to pay full salaries to several players and members of the coaching staff. Consequently, they have asked players, who they wanted to retain, to take pay cuts. However, reports suggest that Jhingan wanted a change of scenery and the club did not stand in the way.

Jhingan, recently nominated for the Arjuna Award by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), has been with the Kochi-based club right from the first edition of the ISL. He rose to prominence and became a fan favourite over the course of his stay in Kerala. Having appeared in 76 matches, the 26-year-old defender holds the record of being the Yellow Army's most capped player. However, he missed out last season due to an ACL injury.

There are two obvious destinations for Jhingan at the moment, given his heft price tag. Three-time winners ATK FC, who are set to merge with Mohun Bagan, ahead of next season are understood to be in the race. Mumbai City, who are now under the City Football Group's banner, are also believed to be keeping tabs on the situation while Bengaluru FC could also come into the mix.