Adelaide United has signed its fifth foreign player with South Korean midfielder Shin In Sup joining the club on a two-year deal.
Shin impressed the Reds after his two-week trial and coach Aurelio Vidmar is confident the 20-year-old will make an impact this season.
“We’re excited about Shin joining the club. He’s a great young kid, he’s got fantastic potential and we saw that in the two weeks that he spent here and in the match against Perth last Friday,” Vidmar said.
“This will be his first time in a professional environment and we believe he has what it takes to play and perform at this level.”
Shin has been playing for Kunkuk University in South Korea’s university league, which is seen as the primary breeding ground for players moving into the K-League.
Shin’s inclusion gives Adelaide the maximum quota of five foreign players for the upcoming season with the Korean joining Brazilian trio Cassio, Alemao and Cristiano plus fellow new signing, Ghanaian international Lloyd Owusu.
Meanwhile, the team is heading to Darwin to take on Hyundai A-League new boys North Queensland Fury on Thursday night and Vidmar is looking forward to the challenge.
“Most of the boys haven’t been to Darwin before so it’s a great opportunity to go up there and showcase football and the Hyundai A-League, in a place where our code is not as well established as the other football codes,” Vidmar said.
“It will certainly test our mental and physical strength due to it being winter here and a 20 degree difference between Adelaide and Darwin.”
“For one it will be nice to get into a warmer climate, but in saying that it will take some adapting, and we-ll have to see how we go in the different conditions.”
New signings Iain Fyfe, Adam Hughes and exciting youngsters Joe Costa and Michael Marrone are expected to make the trip north, but Fabian Barbiero, Daniel Mullen and young striker Francesco Monterosso have all been ruled out.
Owusu, who arrives in Adelaide on Tuesday morning, will also miss the match with Vidmar saying that he needs time to get up to speed before playing in a competitive match.
“He got his visa last week but he won’t be travelling (to Darwin). He’s out of condition at this point of time, so he’ll come here and start four to five weeks of conditioning and hopefully we’ll get him right for Round 1,” Vidmar said.
