Melbourne City head coach Aurelio Vidmar revealed the Isuzu UTE A-League side are in the process of trying to sign a goalkeeper following a season-ending injury to  James Nieuwenhuizen.
Nieuwenhuizen will be sidelined for an extended period after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, with the 21-year-old already undergoing surgery.
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The number two goalkeeper behind Patrick Beach this season, Nieuwenhuizen’s absence has created a problem for City, with youth shot-stopper Lachlan Charles set to take his place on the bench as cover for Saturday’s showdown against Sydney FC.
But Vidmar is desperate to bring in an injury-replacement goalkeeper, sooner rather than later.
“Yes and plus, we have to because we also need an extra goalkeeper for training as well,” Vidmar told reporters when asked if he was looking to draft in a keeper.
“So the ones underneath there are 14-15 years of age who have come out a couple of times as well for us. So definitely need someone.
“The difficulty is trying to find that right person. At this stage, we haven’t really found anyone who’s available, which makes it very, very difficult. We’re right in the middle of it to be honest and hopefully we’re able to sign someone in the next week or so.”
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Charles is set to be on the bench for City’s trip to Sydney on Saturday.
He has been playing for Alessandro Diamanti’s senior academy team in the VPL1 this season – the second tier of Victorian football.
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“To be honest, Lachie has done a great job at NPL level as well, and he’s a young keeper without the experience is playing as much as he can in the NPL, performing pretty well, and but he’s still got a long way to go,” Vidmar said.
“At 17 years of age, definitely as a goalkeeper, you’re not developed. It’s going to take him a little while, but we got a lot of faith in him, like we have with the other goalkeepers that eventually, somewhere down the track in years to come, they’re going to be very good goalkeepers.”
Pressed on his pursuit of a short-term solution, Vidmar added: “We’ve already got too many young ones here anyway, so someone who is reasonably mature with a little bit of experience, is probably the right play.
“But again, most of those guys are contracted, and if they’re contracted they’re contracted at NPL level or somewhere else. It’s a little bit of work to do to get that over the line.”
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