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ESPN staff 5y

CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary join Chennaiyin FC on loan for the rest of the season

Chennaiyin FC have signed CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary from Kerala Blasters on loan till the end of the ongoing ISL season. As part of the same deal, young forward Baoringdao Bodo has joined Kerala on a permanent move.

"Vineeth and Halicharan bring plenty of quality and experience to our squad," head coach John Gregory said in a press release. "Our focus will be to salvage some pride in the ISL while putting up a good run in our debut AFC Cup campaign. The Super Cup also provides us with an opportunity to repay our fans' unconditional support this season with a trophy."

Vineeth returns to the city where he began his professional career with Chennai Customs and is looking for a "fresh start" as Chennaiyin - currently sitting in the last position - look to embark on their campaign in Asia.

"I am looking forward to the rest of the season with Chennaiyin FC," Vineeth said. "This campaign hasn't gone to plan so far but it will be a fresh start and I hope to contribute with the AFC Cup and Super Cup also on the horizon."

Vineeth first joined Kerala Blasters on loan from the then I-League club Bengaluru FC in 2015. This will be his first switch to a team in the Indian Super League (ISL) since his permanent move to Kerala Blasters during the 2017-18 season. Vineeth has had a season to forget, scoring just two goals in 10 appearances for Kerala. 


Also read: CK Vineeth: The Kannur kid who dreamed big


Narzary, fresh from the Asian Cup, is also looking to add depth to Chennaiyin's AFC Cup campaign after a less than average season with Kerala. 

Chennaiyin will play the winner of Colombo FC (Sri Lanka) and Transport United (Bhutan) on March 6 and March 13 in their AFC Cup campaign. The first leg will be away and this will be a playoff game to reach the main draw. 

"Chennaiyin FC are a club with a lot of success in the ISL. I am good friends with a lot of the Indian players like Jeje Bhai, Germanpreet (Singh) and (Anirudh) Thapa. I can't wait to link up with the boys here and give my best with a lot of important games coming up, including the club's debut AFC Cup campaign," Narzary said.

Narzary, 24, has previously played for FC Goa and NorthEast United FC in the ISL.

Meanwhile, Chennaiyin's youngest ever first-team debutant, Bodo - who made two appearances in their 2017-18 title-winning campaign - makes the switch to Kerala after having spent two months on loan at Kozhikode based I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala FC, scoring one goal in two appearances.

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