Indian Super League (ISL) leaders Kerala Blasters on Wednesday confirmed the signing of Lithuania national team captain Fedor Cernych for the remainder of the season. Cernych, 32, joins the KBFC ranks from Cypriot First Division side AEL Limassol.
Not long after the news of Cernych's arrival to Kochi was announced by the club via social media, his Instagram account received a major surge in terms of followers. The attacker has got over 155K followers on Instagram during the time of compiling this report.
Accounts linked with "Manjappada", the KBFC ultras, claimed that Cernych's Insta handle had only 7,080 followers before the transfer. It is claimed that the former Dynamo Moscow star received as many as 20K fresh followers within an hour following the announcement. Manjappada holds the massive surge in the Lithuanian's Instagram testimonial to the unflinching loyalty and phenomenal support that the club enjoy.
Over the last few days, many Manjappada profiles on X (formerly Twitter) have been following the gradual increase in Fedor Cernych's follower count. They shared screenshots as the numbers kept growing over time.
Cernych has represented Lithuania 82 times, scoring 12 goals, the ISL said on its website. He has scored a goal and managed an assist in his five appearances in the UEFA Nations League. In the UEFA European Qualifiers, he has bagged himself two goals and two assists, the report added. The arrival of the experienced attacker on a free transfer is expected to strengthen the Kochi club which is currently operating sans its talismanic skipper Adrian Luna.