Maclaren committed to City’s cause

Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce has two of the A-League’s best-ever strikers on his books; but they’ll never play together.

Jamie MacLaren will join Melbourne City. Picture: AAP

Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce has two of the A-League’s 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 during the transfer window but there were no offers that tempted the 31-year-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 club agreed terms with German parent club Darmstadt although it was a close-run thing.

The transfer went down to the wire — and past the closing of the Australian transfer window — as both City and Darmstadt lobbied Scottish club Hibernian, who Maclaren was playing for on loan, for a release.

On Thursday night, City feared they would miss out on the Socceroos forward. They used a loophole in the FIFA regulations to register the striker using the German transfer window, buying a few precious hours to secure his release from Hibernian.

The Scottish Premiership club were not willing to let Maclaren go without finding a replacement.

Once that domino had fallen, City could celebrate the capture of one of Australia’s finest forwards.

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.

City could also announce the loan signing of English youth international Shayon Harrison within the next 24 hours.

Nine Media reported yesterday the Tottenham youngster was expected to join the club pending visa clearance.

AAP