ISL 2017/18: Kerala Blasters drop striker Mark Sifneos from squad

What's the story?

In a surprising turn of events, Kerala Blasters and star striker Mark Sifneos have reached a mutual agreement to part ways. This will come as a sudden news for all the Blasters faithful as a decision of this magnitude was not expected by anyone. Sifneos played all of Kerala Blasters' matches until now, which makes this decision even harder to believe.

In case you didn't know...

Sifneos scored the first goal of the season for Kerala Blasters this time around. So far, the half Dutch half Greek striker had scored four goals for the Kochi side and also assisted once. He was the sixth foreign signing for the Blasters in the summer and was reported by many as a punt taken by the then coach Rene Muelensteen.

The heart of the matter

Sifneos had not played much first team football anywhere before signing for the ISL side. But he soon repaid the faith shown in him by the Kerala management with his performances.

Kerala Blasters and Mark Sifneos have mutually agreed to part ways. We are grateful for all his contributions to the club. The club would also like to wish him well for the future. pic.twitter.com/Zf9qqg5nNG

— Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) January 23, 2018

Goals have been an issue for the Blasters, which makes his return of four goals a commendable one.

What's next?

The 21-year-old striker might be a transfer target for some European club, which could have resulted in a mutual agreement to part ways between the two parties.

Author's take

Sifneos was signed by Meulensteen as a result of his close connections with Dutch club RKC Waalwijk. With the Dutchman now no longer a part of the Blasters' setup, the decision to drop Sifneos from the ouster may have been taken due to that aspect as well.