The hunt for an international marquee striker is finally over for Graham Arnold as Sydney FC officially announced the signing of Slovakian striker Filip Holosko on a two-year deal.
The club announced the signing of the Slovakian on a deal worth just over $1 million.
The 31-year old played for Besiktas for seven years while also going out on loan on two occasions to İstanbul Başakşehir and Çaykur Rizespor in the Turkish Süper Lig.
Holosko played five seasons for Besiktas, appearing in 144 games and scoring 42 goals. He will have some big shoes to fill, replacing last year’s golden boot winner and Austria skipper Marc Janko.
Arnold claimed that Holosko will be more of a replacement for Bernie Ibini but will mostly play leading the line. He is very versatile for his age, and Arnold believes he can play on the left as well as the right.
This comes as Sydney FC’s fifth addition to the squad, with Riley Woodcock, Zac Anderson, Andrew Hoole and Milos Ninkovic joining the club for the upcoming season.
Holosko fills Sydney’s fourth visa spot out of five and Arnold is contemplating whether to fill it or not.
Sydney FC has also been in talks with Australian James Demetriou from Swansea City on loan. If this deal arrives or another striker is added, we could possibly see Holosko playing on the wing more often than expected.
144
Roar Guru
I asked Mark Rudan earlier this weeka nd he said that he is may replace Ibini, but he is definitely into the top third.
Rocco75
Guest
"You need to accept your self imposed geographical restrictions." AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..... nice trolling Josh.
144
Roar Guru
and also our champions legue run means we would have needed Janko more than we did the first season and he also has international duty so he would miss out a lot
Waz
Guest
Agreed.
Josh
Guest
Self imposed.
Gareth
Guest
Much better chance of winning the wooden spoon amirite?
Gareth
Guest
I think the club wants someone to create more goal scoring opportunities. It's useless having a target man when no one gets the ball to him, just look at the grand final again, Janko was barely involved in the game. In regards to retaining the squad I don't think the club had much control over that. Petkovic and Dimitrijevic both have families back in Europe who they want to be close to, and Janko was asking for a $1mil pay rise, not much the club can do there.
The Minister
Guest
Either way, what's done is done. Marc Janko has just signed for FC Basel so people can follow his progress in the UCL this upcoming season if they make the group stage or Europa League if not. He'll also be first choice for Austria at Euro 2016 , as they have just about qualified, and we'll see what he has left in the tank and what caliber player SFC had on their hands for one season. Not many times has an import player left the HAL and joined a club of the likes of FC Basel. Good to see the HAL can also be a stop-over for foreign players still in their prime and not just a retirement league for imports in the autumn of their careers.
Waz
Guest
You can't argue with Janko's stats and if was a brave move letting him go. It could also be argued that he was too one-dimensional meaning Sydney had to play to his style making it easier for opponents to nullify both him and Sydney's build up play towards him. He had that remarkable scoring run which simply was remarkable, but before and after that run he was average making it hard to decide just how valuable he was to Sydney. Brave move all the same but this does look a competent replacement at half the price.
Waz
Guest
He does sound promising. Should have gone to the other Sydney if he wants to win things though ..... Meeeeeooow .... pass the milk please!
Josh
Guest
You need to accept your self imposed geographical restrictions.
David SFC
Guest
He signed for Sydney FC mate. Not the Roosters.
The Minister
Guest
Decent signing but SFC really needs a big target man up front as a replacement for Janko who should have been retained at all costs. Janko's value wasn't fully apreciated in his time at SFC. Just because he wasn't a very mobile striker and wasn't a "flashy" marquee in the traditional sense you can't argue with his stats and his (usually) ice cold finishing in the box. 16 goals in 25 appearances albeit with a few penalties thrown in is a strike rate any striker anywhere in the world would be more than happy with and it could have been more if the service from the wings had been better last season. Just to see what we are missing google "Janko bicycle goal vs Russia" in the most recent Euro 2016 qualifier for Austria. And to add to Janko's departure we've also lost Petkovic,Dimitrejevic and Ibini... Why is it so hard for SFC to build and retain a solid squad from one season to the next? It seems like every pre-season it's back to the drawing board. This is something that the Victory as a club seem to do much better. Credit where credit is due...
Josh
Guest
*East Sydney
David SFC
Guest
Sounds promising. Similar CV to Janko. Only time will tell I guess. Welcome to Sydney Filip!