The 2022/23 A-league campaign is shaping up to be an exciting one already with a couple of big signings heading to Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar in particular.
The A-League has never been short of some huge names arriving for a season or two. Who can forget Alessandro Del Piero turning out for Sydney FC.
Spanish ace David Villa was another to turn out for Melbourne City, while Australian’s Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell also had spells in their home league.
Daniel Sturridge also pitched up in Perth for last season. But probably the less said about that the better. The former Liverpool striker had a season to forget when struggling with injury which resulted in him making a handful of appearances and scoring zero goals.
That ill-fated spell down under has not deterred some big names from heading to the A-League though so let’s take a look at two exciting signings that have gone through.
There is still time for some big names to arrive ahead of the new season but these two will take some beating.
This is a signing that will really excite the Victory members. The capture of the Portuguese legend has to go down as one of the biggest signings in the history of the A-League.
The former Manchester United star is still just 35 and has agreed a deal that will see him spend the next two A-League campaigns with Tony Popovic’s side.
Nani won four Premier League title’s during his time with United and has 112 caps for Portugal. He has also played for Sporting Lisbon and Fenerbahce.
Most recently he made 77 appearances for Orlando City in the MLS before joining Italian Serie B side Venezia, where he made 10 appearances. He will now look to showcase his ability in the A-League.
But he made his name at Old Trafford where he played his football between 2007 and 2015. He made 147 appearances for the Reds and scored 25 goals.
The winger has chipped in with his fair share of goals throughout his career, but it’s his creativity that is his strongest point and he should rip it up in the A-League.
Victory have signed seven players so far this off-season as they go in search of silverware and there is no doubt that Nani could prove to be the difference for them. Victory are priced at 3/1 to win the A-League grand final next season and Popovic is certainly excited.
“We’re proud to be able to recruit a player like Nani to our Club and believe he will be an incredible asset for Melbourne Victory and the entire A-League,” Popovic said.
“He has enjoyed an incredibly successful career at both club level and international level and we believe his quality and experience will be key in achieving our ambitions this season.”
This is another great signing for Brisbane Roar and the A-League. Austin has played at the highest level England, scoring goals wherever he has been and has a great chance of getting a bag full during his time in the A-League.
Austin made 111 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 34 goals. He spent last season in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers and managed to play 34 games, scoring five goals in the process.
In total Austin has scored 173 senior league and cup goals throughout his career. What the Roar fans will be delighted to hear is the fact that Austin remains highly motivated to do well during his time with the club.
He is still a very good age at 32 and the fact he had a full season with QPR last season means he will be fit and ready to hit the ground running.
Brisbane missed out on finals last season but with Austin on board there is a real possibility of them pushing for the top six again. That is where Austin wants to be. Brisbane are priced at 33/1 to go further and win the grand final.
"I want to help the club get back into the top six and on a personal note score as many goals as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile Roar coach Warren Moon is in no doubt the club have pulled off a real coup.
"Charlie has scored goals wherever he's been. From my discussion with him, he comes to us with great ambition to try to hit the 200 mark for his career,” Moon said.
"That says to me that we have a player who is coming here to be successful for Brisbane Roar and who has the hunger to continue doing what he loves best and that's scoring goals."
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