Italian striker Federico Piovaccari inks deal with Western Sydney Wanderers

Federico Piovaccari has inked a deal with the Western Sydney Wanderers. The 30-year-old Italian footballer will replace outgoing striker Tomi Juric, who announced that he would be leaving the club in May.

Piovaccari will not be playing for the Wanderers just yet until he comes out of his contract with Italian Serie A club Sampdoria at the end of the month, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald . The report said that Sampdoria signed Piovaccari for a four-year deal worth US$5.3 million (AU$7.25M) in 2011.

The Gallarate native said he was happy to move to Australia, which he reckons will give him and his family an exciting experience. He added that he can’t wait to start a new chapter in his football career.

Piovaccari thanked the club and Wanderers’ boss John Tsatsimas for giving him the opportunity to play for the club. He said that he will do the best that he can to make a lasting impression in Australian football.

“I’ll do everything in my power to pay back their faith in me,” Piovaccari said.

Tsatsimas is thrilled to have Piovoccari on the club. He said Federico is a “proven goal scorer.” He added that Piovoccari’s addition is great to boost Wanderers’ attacking threat.

Meanwhile, Juric, whose preference is to move to Europe, remains a free agent. He had been previously linked to Belgian club Standard Liege in June, but Liege didn’t pursue signing the 23-year-old. The Sydney Morning Herald earlier reported the 23-year-old has flown to Poland for a meeting with Legia Warsaw to discuss his potential move to the club, but no agreement has been finalised.

In January, Juric also cast off a $10 million deal with Chinese Super League’s Shanghai Shenhua. Fellow compatriot and Australian teammate Tim Cahill ended up sealing the deal with China’s football powerhouse instead.

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