A-Leagues sides have been busy this off-season ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 campaign. Here are some of the best signings that you may have missed amid the hype of a World Cup on home soil.
The commencement of the 2023-24 A-Leagues season is creeping up and clubs across both the Men’s and Women’s competitions are loading up.
Isuzu UTE A-League Men outfits are already in the thick of pre-season and Australia Cup action, as many sides continue to tinker their squads ahead of a crack at silverware this season.
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Meanwhile, Liberty A-League Women sides have begun ramping up, announcing re-signings and new arrivals, with pre-season starting in only a matter of weeks for all 12 teams ahead of the biggest campaign in the history of the competition.
Ahead of the season getting underway, here are some of the signings you may have missed.
Hamza Sakhi – Melbourne City
Among the host of new arrivals at Melbourne City is Moroccan midfielder Hamza Sakhi.
The 27-year-old signed for the club on a one-year loan deal from Ligue 1 outfit AJ Auxerre, becoming the first Moroccan to play in Isuzu UTE A-League.
Sakhi has played in France for over a decade, tallying 175 appearances, 20 goals and 24 assists in Ligue 2 but spent last season playing in Ligue 1 for the first time in his career.
However, Auxerre were relegated from the top flight at the end of last season, joining Troyes who are coached by former City coach Patrick Kisnorbo in the drop zone.
His arrival is part of almost an entire rebuild of the club’s midfield, after City parted ways with Socceroo Aiden O’Neill and experienced attacking midfield trio Richard van der Venne, Florin Berenguer and Valon Berisha.
City hope his arrival coupled by the signings of former Udinese midfielder Tolgay Arslan, Steven Ugarkovic, Alessandro Lopane and Terry Antonis will help offset their departures this season as they embark on their hunt for a fourth straight Isuzu UTE A-League Premiership and the club’s second Championship after falling short in consecutive seasons.
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Alana Jancevski – Adelaide United
The Alana Jancevski show has arrived in Adelaide.
Jancevski joins the Reds for the upcoming campaign after two seasons at Perth Glory, where she put her name up in lights off the back of a promising season.
The 20-year-old striker has a tremendous eye for goal, as shown during her second season at Glory where Jancevski’s free-kick against Western United was winner of Liberty Goal of the Month in February.
At the end of the Liberty A-League season, Jancevski performed brilliantly back home in the NPLW Victoria, scoring 12 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions for FC Bulleen Lions – helping them to the Premiership alongside the likes of Paige Zois, Maja Markovski, TJ Vlajnic, Tiffany Eliadis, Beattie Goad and Claudia Mihocic.
Jancevski is the perfect inclusion for a team that struggled for goals last season and has only improved year-on-year, setting herself up brilliantly for a breakout campaign.
Put simply, Adrian Stenta has a player on his hands if he can harness the full potential of the ultra-talented forward.
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Zinedine Machach – Melbourne Victory
‘Zizou’ has arrived at Melbourne Victory!
Tony Popovic’s side announced the signing of French attacker Zinedine Machach ahead of the upcoming season, as Victory look to bounce back after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. His arrival helps bolster an attack which struggled enormously last season, scoring 29 goals in 26 games which was the 11th best in the competition.
Machach arrives with quite the CV, having been on the books of Ligue 1 outfit Marseille – making 10 appearances on loan from Toulouse – and recently crowned Serie A champions Napoli where he spent his four years amid a myriad of different loan spells.
After a short stint at Ionikos in Greece, the 27-year-old will be looking to make a splash down under, signing on a one year deal.
Mille Farrow – Perth Glory
Perth mean business this off-season and the arrival of Millie Farrow may be the best signing of the lot.
The 27-year-old arrives at Glory with considerable experience accrued over a career that has taken her to Chelsea, Bristol City, Reading, Leicester City and Crystal Palace in the WSL.
Farrow has most recently played for North Carolina Courage in the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and has been capped by England’s Under 19 and Under 23 sides.
During her time at Chelsea, she won the FA Women’s Super League and FA Cup double in 2015, and the FA Women’s Championship with Leicester six years later.
Farrow’s career has unfortunatley been riddled by a number of serious injuries, all the while learning to live with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OSD) – which she candidly wrote about in her own book titled “Brave Enough Not To Quit”.
Danijel Nizic – Macarthur FC
One of last year’s Australia Cup heroes has arrived at Macarthur FC.
Danijel Nizic returns to the A-Leagues with the Bulls after putting his name up in lights at Sydney United 58 during their run to the 2022 Cup Final.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper was enormous in their penalty shootout victory over Western United in the Round of 16, before once again putting in a heroic performance in the Semi Final win over Brisbane Roar – saving a Jay O’Shea penalty.
His performances over the last few years have seen him earn another top flight opportunity with the side that vanquished United in the final last October, where he will compete with Filip Kurto and Alexander Robinson for the number one spot.
Nizic previously played for Western Sydney Wanderers, making one league appearance in the 2018-19 season after a lengthy spell in England with Morecambe, Crewe Alexandra, Chorley and Workington after coming through the youth academy of Premier League side Burnley.
Grace Maher – Western United
Western United have made quite the splash this off-season, signing one of the competition’s best in Grace Maher.
The versatile 24-year-old joins the club after a tremendous season with Canberra United, bolstering Western’s defensive and midfield stocks going into the upcoming season.
Maher looks set to slot in alongside fellow emerging defender Alana Cerne in the heart of defence, in the aftermath of Sydney Cummings’ departure from the club – but has the ability to slot into midfield should coach Mark Torcaso look to integrate her further up the pitch.
There aren’t many better distributors of the ball in the league than Maher, who ranked in the top 10 in key passes and progressive passes last season, as Canberra just missed out on a spot in the finals.
Florin Berenguer – Brisbane Roar
After five successful seasons at Melbourne City, Florin Berenguer has joined Brisbane Roar ahead of the new season.
Berenguer joins Roar on a two-year deal, providing an added boost to Brisbane’s midfield going into the first season under new coach Ross Aloisi. At his best, the 34-year-old is one of the league’s most crafty technicians, as shown in the 2021-22 season where he earned a spot in the PFA Team of the Season.
Berenguer was integral in City’s push for the double that season, before an untimely hamstring injury on the eve of finals hampered the end of his campaign. The Frenchman returned in time for finals, but wasn’t able to inspire a Championship victory as they lost the Grand Final to Western United.
Berenguer spent much of last season behind the likes of Valon Berisha and Richard van der Venne in the pecking order and working his way back from injury, but still managed to tally five assists to go with one goal.
It will be a curious watch to see how Aloisi integrates him into the side alongside fellow attacking midfielder Jay O’Shea.
Grace Jale – Perth Glory
Another of the Liberty A-League’s brightest talents, Grace Jale is on the move, joining Perth Glory after a brilliant season at Canberra United.
Jale links up with Alex Epakis’ side who have already assembled quite the attack over the off-season, which already includes the likes of Hana Lowry, Susan Phonsongkham, Sofia Sakalis and new signing Mille Farrow.
The 24-year-old forged a brilliant attacking tandem alongside the likes of Michelle Heyman, Vesna Milivojevic and Nicki Flannery as they came within inches of a finals berth.
Jale’s form for Canberra saw her rewarded with a call-up to New Zealand’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad, where she made two appearances as a substitute – including against The Philippines where she almost scored an equaliser in the dying embers of the contest.
Riku Danzaki – Western United
Western United men’s side have also loaded up this transfer window, bringing on a host of top quality signings including Riku Danzaki – who returns to the A-Leagues after a short stint in Scotland.
The Japanese winger arrives at Western as they look to bounce back after a disappointing campaign that saw them miss the top six after winning the Championship in 2022.
Danzaki initially burst onto the scene at Brisbane Roar when he joined on loan from Consadole Sapporo in the 2020-21 season, scoring nine goals en route to the club’s last finals appearance.
He returned at the start of last season but failed to rekindle the same magic in his 12 appearances at the club, before departing for Motherwell in January where he only featured four times.
The 23-year-old will be hoping a fresh start at Western can help him rediscover his best form, as he looks set to slot in alongside fellow new arrival Daniel Penha in attack and help fill the gap left by outgoing wingers Connor Pain and Dylan Pierias.
Kurea Okino – Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory may have recruited a diamond this off-season.
Kurea Okino joins Victory ahead of the new Liberty A-League season after one of the most dominant NPLW Victoria campaigns in the history of the competition with Boroondara Eagles.
Okino scored a whopping 31 goals in 21 games for the newly promoted outfit, helping take them to a second placed finish in their first season in the top flight. Her goal tally is the equal-fourth highest in the NPL era (since 2014), only bettered by former Victory strikers Catherine Zimmerman and Melina Ayres.
Most goals scored by a single player in a NPLW Victoria regular season (since 2014)
| Player (team and year) | Goals | Games | Goals per game average |
| Catherine Zimmerman (Calder United – 2018) | 43 | 28 | 1.53 |
| Melina Ayres (South Melbourne – 2017) | 39 | 27 | 1.44 |
| Catherine Zimmerman (Calder United – 2019) | 33 | 27 | 1.2 |
| Angela Beard (Calder United – 2019) | 31 | 25 | 1.25 |
| Kurea Okino (Boroondara Eagles – 2023) | 31 | 21 | 1.47 |
In fact, her arrival comes in the wake of both the aforementioned strikers departing this off-season, leaving big shoes for the Japanese striker to fill this upcoming campaign.
However, if the story of Zimmerman – a foreign striker, who dominated in the NPL before going on to make a mark in the Liberty A-League – is anything to go by, then Victory may have uncovered yet another gem.
