Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell says Eugene Dadi’s departure could quicken the process of signing former Motherwell midfielder Steven McGarry to the club.
In an eventful opening to the January transfer period for Perth, the Glory revealed on Monday morning they had come to a mutual agreement with Dadi to terminate the 36-year-old veteran’s contract with the club, which was due to expire at the end of this season.
Dadi has reportedly headed to New Zealand to trial with the Wellington Phoenix but his departure has opened up one of the foreign player positions available on the Perth roster, meaning any contract with McGarry could be pushed through quickly.
Like Dadi, midfielder McGarry found himself somewhat on the outer at Motherwell this season, having been restricted to just one appearance against Hearts on New Year’s Eve.
Glory coach Dave Mitchell had initially contacted the 30-year-old with the aim of using him as a replacement for either Jacob Burns or Mile Sterjovski if either of the pair left the Glory to further their World Cup ambitions during January.
But with Dadi gone, and the Glory struggling with injury and illness leading into a big clash with Sydney this week and a busy final few weeks, McGarry may be in the right place at the right time to start earlier than expected.
“He wants to come and have a look at this place and we want to have a look at him,” Mitchell said on Monday.
“It’s sort of a trial to start with and if he turns out to be good then we could mutually agree quickly now that there’s a position open.”
“Steven McGarry was going to come regardless of Eugene moving on or not, because we’re hopefully looking at him for maybe later on … with one of the Socceroos going, to fulfil that role.”
“But just the way that Eugene happened there might be a spot opening up earlier for him.”
McGarry arrives in Perth on Tuesday evening from Scotland and will train with the club for the first time on Thursday, Mitchell saying the limited preparation time all-but ruled him out for Sunday’s clash with the Sky Blues, even if the paperwork was rushed through.
But the coach wouldn’t discount the possibility of using him earlier than expected, particularly if either Burns or Sterjovski were injured while on national duty this week playing in the Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait on Wednesday night.
“We’ve got sort of a limited squad at the moment so we just have to wait and see,” Mitchell said. “(But) it will take him a bit to acclimatise I think.”
Since the club’s big 4-0 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day, Naum Sekulovski and Jimmy Downey have both been struck down by a virus that’s swept the squad.
Mitchell said striker Branko Jelic remained a chance to return from a three-match absence with an ankle injury, although this remained unlikely, while Victor Sikora will undergo more scans on a troublesome thigh injury that hasn’t responded well to treatment.
