Melbourne Victory have announced the signing of Spanish defender Ubay Luzardo, pending the arrival of his international transfer certificate.
Melbourne Victory have announced the signing of Spanish defender Ubay Luzardo, pending the arrival of his international transfer certificate.
The signing comes on the back of deal renewals for captain Adrian Leijer, Matthew Foschini and Petar Franjic, with the former duo extending their contracts until the end of the 2013-14 campaign and the latter penning a new one-year deal.
Luzardo, 28, had been on trial at Victory for two weeks, and joins on loan from Hong Kong outfit Kitchee SC until the end of the Hyundai A-League season.
The Las Palmas product had been in Hong Kong since July 2009, making 44 appearances and scoring 10 goals.
He had reportedly caught the eye of Victory coach Jim Magilton during Kitchee's friendly with English Premier League club Chelsea in July, and is the second defensive signing for the A-League club - after fringe Australia international Mark Milligan - this transfer window.
"Ubay is a big, strong boy, who moves well for a player of his size," Magilton said.
"He's done everything right in his short time with the club and will provide more stability to our defence and also give us some flexibility with the personnel we currently have."
Of the three defensive players to re-sign, Magilton said: "These three boys have all represented Australia in different age groups and it was important that we kept them at our club."
"Adrian has proven himself to be one of the most reliable defenders in the league and, at just 25, is still relatively young for a centre-half and will only continue to improve."
"Matthew has established himself as a first team regular this season and Petar has done very well when given an opportunity, so I believe both youngsters have bright futures at this club."