ISL: Chennaiyin FC sign Vineeth, Halicharan on loan from Kerala Blasters

Chennai, Jan 24 (IANS) Chennaiyin FC on Thursday announced the arrival of forward C.K. Vineeth and winger Halicharan Narzary from Kerala Blasters on loan till the end of the ongoing season.

In the same deal, young forward Baoringdao Bodo joined the Kochi-based ISL club from Chennaiyin FC on a permanent move.

"Vineeth and Halicharan bring plenty of quality and experience to our squad. 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," said head coach John Gregory.

Commenting on his signing, Kannur-born forward Vineeth said: "I am looking forward to the rest of the season with Chennaiyin FC. 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."

Assamese winger Narzary said: "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," he added.

The 30-year-old Vineeth returns to the city where he began his professional career with Chennai Customs. A two-time I-League winner with Bengaluru FC, Vineeth has also been a runner-up in the AFC Cup, where he scored key goals in Bengaluru's run to the final.

Vineeth has also won the Federation Cup twice with Bengaluru, having scored the winner in the 2017 final against Mohun Bagan.

He was ISL runner-up with Kerala Blasters in 2016 and is their leading goal scorer with 11 goals in the competition. Vineeth has also represented the India senior national team.

The 24-year-old Narzary is a regular India international with 27 caps to his name so far. The former Arrows and Dempo player started all three of India's group games in their recently concluded 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign, having also assisted CFC striker Jeje Lalpekhlua's goal in the 4-1 win over Thailand.

The 2015 SAFF Cup winner has also previously played for FC Goa and NorthEast United FC in the ISL.

While Narzary joins CFC on loan, another Assamese makes the switch to Kerala Blasters on a permanent move.

CFC's youngest ever first-team debutant, Bodo, made two appearances in their 2017-18 title-winning campaign. He spent the previous two months on loan at Kozhikode based I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala FC, scoring one goal in two appearances.