The pieces are coming together for Dwight Yorke ahead of his first Isuzu UTE A-League season after Macarthur FC signed Georgia international forward Bachana Arabuli.
Tipped to “entertain”, Arabuli joins Yorke’s Macarthur on a one-year deal, with the option of a further season.
A champion with giants Dinamo Tbilisi and Samtredia in his homeland Georgia, the seven-time international arrives following three seasons in the Greek Super League.
The 28-year-old – who played alongside Newcastle Jets star Beka Mikeltadze at Tbilisi – scored eight goals in his two seasons with Lamia, having previously played for Panionios.
“He’s coming in with a terrific goalscoring record. He’s someone we looked at,” said Macarthur head coach and Manchester United legend Yorke, whose Bulls reached the Australia Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
“We like his style, he’s unique, he’s left footed so he gives us a bit of a different dimension.
“We feel that he will be another good addition to our squad and that makes us more competitive in all areas of the pitch.
“We want to create a healthy competition among the players and having Arabuli here will certainly do that.”
Arabuli has also played for Balmazujvaros and Puskas Akademia in Hungary, where he scored 14 goals across two league campaigns.
That came after he netted 11 goals in 18 league appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi in 2017.
Macarthur have also signed Jerry Skotadis, Jed Drew, Eddie Caspers, Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Kearyn Baccus, Anthony Carter, Matthew Millar, Ivan Vujica and Daniel Arzani.
“We are delighted to have Bachana join us for the next two seasons. He brings a wealth of experience to our team having played top flight football for his entire career and having played international football,” Macarthur chief executive Sam Krslovic said.
“His style adds a point of difference to our attack and that is going to entertain Bulls fans this season.”