Melbourne City “Absolutely Requires New Talent” After Entering Free-Agent Market

Melbourne City’s head coach, Aurelio Vidmar, has confirmed that the Isuzu UTE A-League team is actively seeking to recruit a goalkeeper following a season-ending injury sustained by James Nieuwenhuizen.

The 21-year-old keeper will be out of action for a considerable time after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, prompting him to undergo surgery.

Nieuwenhuizen, who served as the second-choice goalkeeper behind Patrick Beach this season, leaves a gap for City, with youth goalkeeper Lachlan Charles ready to step up to the bench as a substitute for Saturday’s clash against Sydney FC.

However, Vidmar is keen to secure an injury-replacement goalkeeper as soon as possible.

“Yes, we need to do this as we also require an additional goalkeeper for training,” Vidmar informed reporters when questioned about his plans to recruit a keeper.

“The younger goalkeepers we have are just 14-15 years old and have joined us a couple of times. Therefore, we definitely need someone.”

“The challenge lies in identifying the right person. At present, we haven’t found anyone available, making it incredibly tough. We’re right in the thick of it and hopefully, we can bring someone on board within the next week or so.”

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Charles is expected to occupy the bench during City’s upcoming match in Sydney on Saturday.

The teenager recently signed his first professional contract, which will see him through to the end of the 2024-25 season, after making the step up from the club’s academy.

He has been playing with Alessandro Diamanti’s senior academy team in the VPL1 this season, which represents the second tier of Victorian football.

“Honestly, Lachie has performed excellently at NPL level and, as a young keeper lacking experience, he’s putting in as much game time as possible in the NPL and doing fairly well, but he still has a long journey ahead,” Vidmar commented.

“At 17, a goalkeeper is far from fully developed. It will take him some time, but we have a lot of faith in him, just as we do with the other goalkeepers, as we believe they will evolve into very capable shot-stoppers in the future.”

When pressed about finding a short-term solution, Vidmar remarked: “We already have too many young keepers here, so someone with a bit more maturity and experience would likely be the right fit.”

“However, many of those players are under contract, and if they are, it’s usually at NPL level or elsewhere. There’s quite a bit of work involved to make that happen.”