ISL Transfers: Jessel Carneiro signs 3-year extension with Kerala Blasters

Jessel Carneiro, the 29-year-old left-back, has signed a three-year extension with Kerala Blasters that will see him donning the jersey of the ISL club till the summer of 2023. ATK were interested in signing him for the next season but the Yellow Brigade managed to retain him.

Carneiro arrived at Kerala Blasters this season after an impressive stint with Dempo SC in Goa Premier League. Reportedly, the club paid a transfer fee of around ₹18 lakhs to their Goan counterpart to acquire his services.

And, the Curtorim native didn't disappoint the Kerala Blasters fans. Jessel has made the most number of passes for his team, averaging at 40.71 per game with an accuracy of 71.22%. Moreover, he is the only player in his team to have played every minute of the matches in this season of ISL.

The 29-year-old's ability to overlap turned out to be immensely beneficial for Kerala Blasters as he ended up contributing three assists for his team apart from creating a plethora of chances.

Carneiro doesn't compromise on his defensive duties either. And, his statistic of 24 tackles, 20 interceptions, 60 clearances, and 14 blocks are a testament of it. He has also conceded the least number of fouls for his team (3) and picked up only one yellow card.

Kerala Blasters are also rumoured to sign TRAU FC's Sandeep Kumar and Hyderabad FC's Rohit Kumar for the next season. However, they might let Lalruatthara go to Mumbai City FC.

Kerala Blasters next face Chennaiyin FC on Saturday in their ISL clash. There playoff hopes for this season are all but over as they are languishing at the eighth spot with 14 points from 14 matches.