Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya may play his last game for the club this weekend against Melbourne after receiving permission to trial with Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente next week.
The 21-year-old is contracted to the Glory until the end of the 2009-10 season but coach Dave Mitchell has previously said he would not stand in Rukavytsya’s way if a European club came knocking during the January transfer window.
If successful, the Qantas Australian Under-23 representative and Hyundai A-League’s joint third top goal scorer, could be joining former England coach Steve McLaren at the Dutch side, which is currently third on the Eredivisie table and eyeing off a Champions League qualification position for next season.
“I’ve dreamt of playing in the big leagues in Europe and this is another great opportunity for me to realise that dream,” Rukavytsya said, referring to a previous unsuccessful trial at Bundesliga club Hannover 96 during the off-season.
“I’ll just go over and do my best but my first focus is the game on Sunday and hopefully scoring a few more goals against Melbourne.”
Glory chief executive Scott Gooch said Perth provided a positive environment to develop players like the Ukrainian-born Rukavytsya, who made his debut for the club late in the 2006-07 season.
“We have a number of outstanding young players at the club and it is inevitable that with consistently good performances for us they’ll attract attention from overseas,” Gooch said.
“We are not a club that will stand in the way of the best young talent realising their football dreams, however Nikita is a contracted player and we will always take into account the impact on the club and our stakeholders,” he added, referring to the fact that Rukavytsya should command a handy transfer fee for the Perth-based club.
