Kerala Blasters had one point from six games when Westwood arrived, and he starts the Al Fursan era away to Inter Kashi
Andre Green is the first overseas signing under the club’s new UAE owners, and Adrián Luna is back from a loan spell in Indonesia.
Oct 7, 2026
Ashley Westwood took over a Kerala Blasters side that had one point from six ISL games. By the end of the 2025-26 season he had added 16 more from seven, enough to drag them up to eighth. On Sunday, 11 October, he starts his first full season in charge away to Inter Kashi in Ranchi, with new owners and a squad largely rebuilt with free transfers.
Al Fursan take over from Magnum
On 29 September, the UAE-based consortium Al Fursan, led by Sheikh Ahmad bin Faisal Al Qasimi, announced it was taking over the club from the Magnum Group. The deal is for 100 per cent of Kerala Blasters, but it is being done in phases over eight months and is expected to be completed towards the end of the 2026-27 season, subject to league and regulatory approval. The financial terms have not been disclosed. Al Fursan run the club from this season.
The club needed a reset. Kerala Blasters have lost three ISL finals and never won the title, and from April last season their biggest fan group, Manjappada, boycotted home games in protest at the way the club was being run.
Amrinder, Yasir and a former Aston Villa winger
Most of the new arrivals are Indian players on free transfers. Amrinder Singh, the 33-year-old goalkeeper who won the league with Mumbai City in 2020-21 and has played for India, arrives from Odisha FC. Mohammad Yasir, 28, comes from FC Goa to add some creativity in wide areas. Both have signed until the end of the season.
Mohammed Sanan, the 22-year-old Malayali winger, has come home from Jamshedpur on a deal to 2028-29, and Ramhlunchhunga, 25, has joined from SC Delhi to give the attack some pace out wide.
The first overseas signing of the Al Fursan era is Andre Green. The 28-year-old Englishman made his Premier League debut for Aston Villa at 17, against Tottenham in March 2016, and won two Slovak titles with Slovan Bratislava. He was a free agent after leaving the Portuguese side AVS in July, and has signed until the end of the season.
Luna is back, and more foreigners are coming
Green should soon have company. Nebojša Kosović, the 31-year-old Montenegro midfielder who left Bangkok United when his contract ran out in July, has reportedly agreed terms, and the club are said to be in talks with two more overseas players. Adrián Luna, the captain, has rejoined the pre-season camp in Chennai after a loan spell at Persik Kediri in Indonesia.
Overseas recruitment is where it went wrong last time. With the opener four days away, Westwood is still assembling the part of the squad that has to make the biggest difference.
Westwood at least knows Indian football well. He won two I-League titles and a Federation Cup with Bengaluru, and had spells at ATK and Punjab FC before he managed Hong Kong. Inter Kashi in Ranchi at 5pm IST on Sunday is the first test of whether last spring’s turnaround was the start of something.