New Melbourne City marquee striker Bruno Fornaroli believes he could forge a successful partnership with Tim Cahill should the Bundoora-based club sign the Caltex Socceroo star.
City revealed on Monday that Fornaroli has agreed to a new three-year contract, which will see him occupy one of the Hyundai A-League club’s two marquee slots.
NEWS: City sign Fornaroli to long-term marquee deal
It is expected that City will unveil Cahill as their latest recruit this week, with the Socceroos forward having been pictured completing a medical with sister club New York City over the weekend, and Fornaroli would love to link up with the 36-year-old.
When asked what his views were on Cahill’s potential arrival, Fornaroli said: “Sign. I say sign.”
The 28-year-old Uruguayan added that he believes he can complement Cahill despite both preferring to play as centre-forwards.
Fornaroli scored 25 goals in 29 matches in his maiden A-League campaign but insisted he could play in behind Cahill or out wide to ensure City gets the most out of Australia’s greatest-ever goals-scorer.
“I think we can play together,” Fornaroli said.
“I hope this [is so] but I don’t know if Tim is coming.”
He added: “[Cahill’s] a fantastic player – a big, big player.”
Cahill is expected to sign a deal as a guest player under Football Federation Australia’s new 12-month rule that allows clubs to sign players outside the salary cap as long as they meet marketing requirements.
While confirming he had never planned to stay for four years when he first arrived in Australia, Fornaroli underlined the lure of bringing a first A-League title to City as critical to his decision to remain with the club.
“It’s difficult to explain what I’m feeling at this moment but I’m very happy, of course, to re-sign three years with the club, and I have more opportunities to win the league, and for this reason, I’m happy,” he said.
Fornaroli, who was already contracted for the 2016-17 season, has been upgraded to a marquee deal for the next three years, which would keep him at City until the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
