Once the great young hope of Australian football, Daniel Arzani will seek to revive his career after signing with Macarthur FC for the 2022-23 A-League Men's season.
Key points:
- Daniel Arzani returns to the A-League, where he burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2017/18
- Arzani played for the Socceroos at the 2018 World Cup, but injury has derailed his career since
- He says he is excited to play under Dwight Yorke at the Bulls
Arzani's move to the Bulls ends a four-year stint in Europe where the 23-year-old struggled to find game-time in the wake of an ACL injury in 2018.
Having debuted for Melbourne City in the 2017-18 ALM season as a 19-year-old, Arzani's performances in the back half of that campaign earned him the Harry Kewell Medal as Australia's best under-23 men's player.
Arzani's star rose even further when he was selected in the Socceroos 2018 World Cup squad, becoming the youngest player at the 32-nation tournament.
Having secured a move to English giants Manchester City, Arzani joined Scottish club Celtic on a season-long loan but tore his ACL on his debut against Dundee.
That injury meant Arzani missed Australia's 2019 Asian Cup campaign and he has struggled to find form since, enduring underwhelming loan spells in Holland, Denmark and Belgium before his City contract expired.
Arzani hasn't played for the Socceroos since his 2018 exploits but was part of the Olyroos' squad at the Tokyo Olympics last year, appearing in all three matches.
Back in Australia, Arzani is eager to rediscover the form that made him such hot property in what will be Macarthur coach Dwight Yorke's rookie campaign.
"Being a new club, it's exciting especially to be working under someone like Dwight Yorke and the rest of the staff here at the Bulls," he said.
"I can't wait to be back on the pitch and to get the season started."
Meanwhile, another player on the fringes of the Socceroos set-up, Brandon Borrello, has joined Western Sydney after five years in Germany.
The ex-Brisbane Roar player, who has appeared four times for Australia, has joined the Wanderers on a two-year deal.
AAP