Montenegrin defender Milos Drincic joins Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City part ways with Asif Khan

Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters FC have signed Montenegro defender Milos Drincic. The 24-year-old has signed a one-year contract with the club and will hope to flourish for the outfit.

The young Montenegrin defender has featured in over 230 appearances for the top tier clubs all across Montenegro and Belarus. Drincic last featured for Belarusian outfit Shakter Soligorsk. Drincic started his career in Montenegro with FK Iskra Danilovgrad in 2016. A series of top-notch performances saw him secure a move to Sutejska Niksic in 2021.

He became the mainstay in defence for Sutejska Niksic in the 2020-21 season as he guided them to become Montenegrin champions.

The young defender has a towering presence and has consistently featured in competitions like Europa League, Champions League qualifiers and was also a part of Montenegro’s various age football teams.

After the Blasters signed him, Sporting Director Karolis Skynkis revealed that they were looking for a towering defender who is slightly young and will adapt to their style of play. He said, “Milos Drincic is exactly the profile we were looking for – fighter mentality, peak age, playing in top European league, and great ambition to represent Kerala Blasters. There were no doubts we wanted him. Though it took some time, I’m glad we have Milos with us. I wish him to become an important part of Kerala Blasters going forward.”

The 24-year-old shared that he always had a good feeling about the club once he had a talk with Karolis. He promises to give his all in this season. “I see this as a wonderful opportunity to explore a new challenge in a different league with a great Club. There was a good feeling from the first moment I started speaking with Karolis. I am really looking forward to this new chapter of my career, and I hope to make it a memorable one. I assure you I will be giving it my all both on and off the pitch,” Drincic stated after putting pen to paper.

The young defender will be vested with the very important opportunity of solidifying the backline which is very important to every team’s success.

In other news, Mumbai City FC have parted ways with midfielder Asif Khan. The young attacking midfielder was at the club since the age of 14 and featured in several youth festivals. He was scouted by the ISL champion team’s scouting team. The youngster did well consistently for the Under-18s and gained his place in the senior team.

He signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2019-20 season. Since then he has represented the Reserves team 30 times and scored three goals. He played three matches for the senior team last season. He made two appearances in the ISL and one in Durand Cup.