Entries Tagged 'Transfers' ↓

Billy Celeski, an Olyroo and former Perth Glory player, has just signed with the Melbourne Victory.

Earlier this week, the Glory released Celeski from his contract (he still had a year to go), paving the way for the midfielder to put pen to paper in Melbourne.

Celeski’s best moment last season came in mid-December, when he scored a hat-trick against Sydney FC. He only scored one other time, but as far as I’m concerned, anyone that can score a hat-trick against Sydney is welcome at Melbourne!

Celeski adds his name to a growing list of former Perth Glory players currently plying their trade with the Victory. Adrian Caceres, Daniel Vasilevski and Nick Ward have all been with the Glory.

Full profile coming soon. Stay posted (or subscribe).

Source: The World Game

Stefan Moore, a 24-year old English striker with experience playing for Aston Villa, is coming to Melbourne this week for a two-week trial.

Moore captained Aston Villa’s youth team when it won the 2002 FA Youth Cup, and has been very highly rated. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, “Moore was rated by many as a better prospect than Wayne Rooney.”

But it never quite happened for Moore. After a series of loans, he eventually moved to Queens Park Rangers in 2005. So just a few months after Nick Ward left QPR behind, he may be joined in Melbourne by a former team mate.

Of course, if Melbourne does sign Moore, that means that two of its current visa players will be left out of the mix for the Asian Champions League. Last week, indications were that Leandro Love would be one of the three. But with another striker on board (as well as Nathan Elasi), Love may once again be pushed out of the squad.

The Melbourne Victory doesn’t seem to be having much luck attracting new players.

Nathan Burns has re-signed with Adelaide United; and indications are that Sasa Ognenovski will be heading over there too. The Queensland Roar defender already seems to be burning bridges with his current club: last week, he got in a fight with Roar goalkeeper Griffin McMaster. The conflict appears to have been about McMaster’s haircut…

Meanwhile, an article in The Age last week was talking up the possibilities of Melbourne signing Perth Glory’s Jamie Coyne. Earlier this week, that possibility was squashed, as Coyne re-signed with Perth.

Michael Thwaite has also just signed a deal with Norwegian team Brann Bergen (incidentally, Nathan Burns is over at Brann Bergen for a trial at the moment). The 24-year old Socceroo had been rumoured to be negotiating with Melbourne.

So, that leaves us with… Stuart Musialik. The Newcastle Jets are hoping he’ll stay at the club, and with the way the Jets keep on winning these days, I wouldn’t put it past them.

Where are these new recruits going to come from?

With Steven Pace joining Daniel Piorkowski and Ljubo Milicevic on the list of injured defenders – Pace has a broken leg – Melbourne’s defensive options are a huge worry. With Nathan Elasi bolstering our striking options, finding a few new defenders is taking top priority for Ernie Merrick and Gary Cole.

The Melbourne Victory has just signed Nathan Elasi, an 18-year old striker who has been playing with the Marconi Stallions.

Elasi, a striker, has played for the Young Socceroos on three occasions and was recommended to Ernie Merrick by Sebastian Ryall, who captains the Young Socceroos.

“We brought him down and he impressed us so much, not only with his skill, positioning and his knowledge of how to play the strikers role, but he’s only just turned 18 and he has the build of a 25-year-old.”

He’s also fast:

“Another huge benefit for him is his background in athletics and his speed; he’s a 100 metre sprinter and a hurdler as well, so we think he’s got the capabilities of an excellent striker and he’s a signing we want to keep for the longer term.

That’s the official word at the moment, but for now Elasi is on a six-month contract.

So, one player signed, eight more to come.

Related post: Profile: Nathan Elasi

I mentioned in last week’s poll (Which International Should Melbourne Ditch?) that Ernie Merrick will have to hand in a 30-player squad list by February 11.

30 players. We currently have 22. One of whom has to be ditched.

That leaves 9 spaces to be filled over the coming 3 and a bit weeks. Expect a raid of the Victorian Premier League, the AIS and other A-League teams.

(By the way, Ernie, if you’re reading this. I’m an ok attacker, so, you know, if you need me…)

The tricky thing is that the A-League only allows teams to have 23 players, so Melbourne will be signing 7 players on deals exclusively for the Asian Champions League group stage. Did I hear someone say “making up the numbers”?

It’s safe to assume Melbourne will be signing at least two longer-term contracts in the next few weeks. And going by this piece in The Age today, it looks like at least one of them will be a striker.

(As I said Ernie, if you need me…)

The Melbourne Victory signed Nick Ward today, a 22-year old Olyroo who has been playing in England for the Queens Park Rangers. Some of you may remember him from the inaugural A-League season, when he played for the Perth Glory.

Ward is a midfielder, and an attacking one at that. Sounds like just what Melbourne needs to reinvigorate a tired, overly defensive midfield.

He joins Melbourne on a six-month contract – enough to see out the rest of this A-League season and the group stage of the AFC Champions League.

Perhaps the bright spark Melbourne needs to kick into gear?

The Melbourne Victory has added Steven Pace to its ranks as a replacement for the injured Daniel Piorkowski.

The 24-year old defender signs over from the Preston Lions. In a 2-week trail with the Victory did, he obviously did enough to warrant his inclusion on the Victory payroll:

“Steven reads the game well, has excellent speed, good distribution and possesses great maturity.” (Ernie Merrick)

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Ljubo Milicevic has been invited back to training, but his future with the Melbourne Victory is still looking doubtful.

An article in The Advertiser today, titled “Ljubo up for grabs”, once again suggests that Ljubo could join Adelaide United in November, as a replacement for Angelo Costanzo, who picked up an injury in the clash with the Victory two weeks ago. It doesn’t look like it would be a long-term affair, as Milicevic seems to be eyeing a return to Europe in January.

Some interesting news from other A-League clubs over the weekend:

• Branko Culina has been fired by Sydney FC. David Mitchell, who is currently the Perth Glory’s assistant coach, appears to be the most likely candidate to replace Culina. (The World Game)
• John Aloisi has been signed by the Central Coast Mariners. This is after negotiations with Sydney FC, Wellington Phoenix (where he could have played alongside the wrong… err… Ross Aloisi), Queensland Roar and Adelaide United. But, I hear you wonder, how can Central Coast afford a player like Aloisi without breaking the salary cap? The Football Tragic explains.

The Melbourne Victory has just finished signing Sebastian Ryall, a young defender who is the captain of the Australian Under20s side.

The Sydney lad joins us from the Australian Institute of Sport. Ernie Merrick had this to say about the 18 year old:

“We like his leadership skills, he’s physically well built and he’s technically a very gifted young player who has been a performer for the AIS and the Qantas Young Socceroos.”

Sportal

Expect a full profile in the next few days.