Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou has confirmed the signing of Socceroo James Troisi on a one-year loan deal from Serie A side Atalanta.
The winger has nine Australian caps and is co-owned by Atalanta and Italian giants Juventus.
English clubs Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City had expressed interest in the 25-year-old but Postecoglou was delighted to sign Troisi.
“We’ve signed James on a one year loan deal and again we are pretty pleased with that. James will arrive Thursday morning and join us on a one year deal” Postecoglou said on Tuesday.
Troisi looks to be an impressive addition to Postecoglou’s attacking arsenal, where he is expected to line up alongside Archie Thompson, Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler.
“Again [we are] pleased because we are getting another quality player into our team and a guy who has represented his country. He’s super excited about joining our club and playing in the A-League and I think he will be a fantastic addition to us,” Postecoglou said.
On the fringes of the Socceroos squad and appearing only six times for Atalanta last season, the Melbourne Victory coach feels that Troisi is keen to reignite his career in Melbourne.
“I think he had a couple of fantastic years in Turkey – didn’t get a lot of game time last year, but I think he sees this as the place where he can re-launch his career and we are pretty good at that.”
Coming off the back of a full pre-season, Troisi is expected to join up with his new teammates for the friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers in Tasmania on Sunday.
“He’s done a full pre-season and been training with Atalanta. Obviously needs some game time but he will join us in Tassie,” Postecoglou said.
Troisi becomes Victory’s 22nd listed player, allowing room for one more addition for the 2013-14 season.