City to keep one gun on ice
MELBOURNE City coach Warren Joyce has two of the A-League best-ever strikers on his books; but they’ll never play together.
New signing Jamie Maclaren will train with banished forward Bruno Fornaroli for the balance of his season after City engineered a deal to bring the 25-year-old back to Australia, without shipping the Uruguayan on.
The cost of that transaction is a hefty one.
Fornaroli will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars simply for training at Bundoora, with Joyce adamant he won’t play for the club again. “It’s very doubtful,” he said. “We’ve got Jamie coming in who’s committed to the cause and wants to do well for the club and really we’re just looking to integrate him with the players who have done tremendously well.”
City attempted to find a new home for Fornaroli in Asia in the transfer window but no offers tempted the 31year-old to move.
He has reportedly signed with Perth Glory for next season, which will help him stay in the country he wants to make a long-term home.
Maclaren’s signing effectively turns the page on Fornaroli’s time at City.
The Melburnian will become the club’s pin-up boy and frontline striker after inking a deal to the end of the 2021-22 season, the last three years as marquee.
Joyce said his admiration for Maclaren began well before he scored 40 goals in two prolific Brisbane Roar seasons.
“He first impressed me when he was at Blackburn Rovers and I was at Manchester United,” he said.
“Sometimes you look at opposition players and you go, ‘Oh I really like him, I could do something with him. I wish he was one of our players.”
City could also announce the loan signing of English youth international Shayon Harrison within the next 24 hours.
Fairfax Media reported on Friday the Tottenham youngster is expected to join the club pending visa clearance.