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Socceroo Bruce Djite has revealed he told Croatian giants Hajduk Split he wasn't interested after they made a move for his signature last month.
Hajduk were linked with Djite by the Croatian press earlier this European summer and in an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo this week the Australian international confirmed they had approached him, but revealed he told them he wasn't interested.
"There was interest from Hajduk Split, a Croatian club," Djite said, "But I didn't really fancy it to be honest.
"It was only a short thing, it wasn't drawn out or anything like that. But it was basically a week of my manager saying ‘well, this team's interested, we are going to have a talk with them and see what they come up with'.
"But basically I said 'it's not really a step forward, what am I going to go to Croatia for?' "
Djite, who scored six goals in his debut season in Europe with Turkish club Genclerbirligi last campaign, felt the better standard of football on offer in the Super Lig compared to Croatia's HNL Ozujsko was crucial for him.
He added: "It's a good league of course. Hajduk Split is a massive team and I think so is Dinamo Zagreb, they are two big teams and you can get some really big transfers from those two teams.
"But overall the Turkish league is better and for me the most important thing is to be playing week in, week out in this league.
"Coming up against quality opposition every week is a massive thing for me and I think I'm better suited to getting that here."
The 22-year-old former Adelaide United added he felt this was a crucial point in his career and time to concentrate simply on playing good football.
"Obviously I want to do really well this season, not only to push my claims for the 23-man World Cup squad but also to move onto bigger and better things club football wise," he said.
"It's definitely the most important season for me in my football career."
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Perth Glory are on the verge of pulling off another major signing after target Chris Coyne had his Colchester United contract terminated today by mutual consent.
The 30-year-old Perth-raised Socceroo now looks likely to agree terms with Glory and seal his move back to Australia.
Coyne, who was contracted until 2011 with the Us, said on the Colchester website: "Unfortunately, after 18 months here, it's time to move on.
"It was made clear that I wasn't going to play week in, week out and I felt that I had to look at that and address it.
"Also, there isn't much of a chance for the Australian manager to watch League One football but in Australia, I'm guaranteed to play 27 games in front of him."
Coyne's latter comment indicates he has decided against a switch to the Middle East and instead will return to Australia, with Glory clearly his most likely destination.
The Socceroo added: "I really enjoyed playing at Layer Road and coming to the new stadium was fantastic for the club. I think they'll push on this year and I wish them all the best."
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Championship club Derby County are ready to hijack Crystal Palace's move to sign Australian defender Patrick Kisnorbo.
Kisnorbo, who was released by Leicester City last month, has been training with Palace with the view to a permanent deal but it is now believed the Rams have offered the Australian a chance at Pride Park.
The 28-year-old former Hearts man has been invited to trial with Derby in pre-season friendlies this week against Borehamwood and Burton Albion.
Crystal Palace, who will begin a pre-season tour of the United States this weekend, realise they now must move fast.
Eagles boss Neil Warnock told the Croydon Advertiser, "We will have to act quickly if we want him because there are a couple of other clubs who are interested. He is a smashing lad."
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Socceroo stopper Adam Federici believes he is ready to step up and make the number one shirt at English Championship club Reading his own this season.
The 24-year-old Australian has played second fiddle at Reading for a long time but his rival goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann has recently departed the club, leaving Federici with a real shot at establishing himself with the Royals.
Federici told the Reading Chronicle: "It's been frustrating but now I have a chance to go out there and prove to everyone that I'm the number one at this club and will be for many years to come.
"I've always wanted to step into the role but with Marcus there it was never going to happen. He's gone now which has given me a great chance to step up and I'm looking forward to that challenge.
"It been a frustrating couple of years, especially when we went down as there were a big spell of games where I thought I could have made the difference. Then last season being dropped for no reason was another frustrating point.
"So this a big chance for myself, it's been a long time coming. I've played in patches but I haven't been able to keep the shirt so this is a chance to prove myself."
Reading's new boss Brendan Rodgers has indicated Federici will start the season as his number one stopper.
And the Aussie claimed having a fresh face around in charge of the club has given the team new life as they attempt to push for promotion back to the English Premier League.
He added: "Everyone is just really excited about the place. He (Rodgers) has been brilliant, he's different to what we're used to which is refreshing.
"It's a different style of football, it's fantastic how professional and organised everything is. It's going to be exciting for us as players to play the way he wants us to.
"He had a talk to us on the first day about how he wants us to play and you could see a smile on everyone's face. As a footballer you want to play good football and I think that's what we're going to do this season.
"It's going to be fantastic."
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This weekend Fremantle will become the first club since 2006 to hand AFL debuts to ten players or more in the one season representing their concerted youth policy.
Incredibly, nine of those ten Fremantle debutants have been in their first year of AFL footy, with youngster Tim Ruffles the latest addition.
In comparison, Richmond and North Melbourne are the nearest clubs to this title this season offering debuts to 7 youngsters, whilst Melbourne has blooded 6 new players.
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey professed this week, “It’s only a matter of time before the whole list grows, gets more mature, gets more experience and then things will start to turn.”
Indeed, it seems this policy of youth first has been encouraged and is becoming widely accepted in the AFL on the back of Hawthorn’s 2008 premiership success after adopting such an approach during their years wallowing down towards the bottom of the ladder.
But is such a policy of blooding youth simply blind faith or is there a science to it?
Fremantle’s newest debutant-to-be, Tim Ruffles, admitted he wasn’t expecting his AFL call-up, saying this week, “He (Harvey) just announced it…I had no idea it was coming.
“I think I’ve been playing consistent footy in the WAFL and the coaches have been pretty happy with that.”
Indeed in some ways, Ruffles’ reaction makes you question the wisdom of handing a debut to a first-year player without really testing their desire to push hard and earn a place in the team.
On the other hand, you could argue the experience he’ll get from playing at AFL level will challenge him to improve himself, so why not throw him in at the deep end.
In saying all that, it is worth examining the example of the Brisbane Lions, the last club to blood 10 debutants in one season.
Before introducing the ten youngsters in 2006, the Lions actually gave debuts to 11 players in 2005, on the back of their successful period from 2001 to 2004 when they played in four consecutive Grand Finals and won three premierships.
Right now the Lions are certainly in the mix for the finals and perhaps the top four, but they are not realistically a premiership contender.
But more importantly, it’s interesting to note that of those 21 debutants the Lions had in 2005 and 2006, only 11 remain currently on the club’s list.
Indeed, Brisbane’s ratio of just over 50% suggests the youth policy route is a hit-and-miss game and is a lot harder than just recklessly blooding rookies into the big-time and hoping they’ll make it.
But with the imminent introduction of a team on the Gold Coast, perhaps the youth direction is the right way to go. I guess only time will tell.
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Former Central Coast Mariners youngster Oliver Bozanic has been challenged to break into Reading's first-team after signing a new deal.
The 20-year-old winger, who is yet to make his senior debut for the Royals, signed a new one-year deal with Reading earlier this week.
Bozanic originally joined Reading in January 2007 but has spent plenty of time playing with the club's under-18s and reserves side before a successful loan stint last season in the Blue Square Premier League with Woking.
And now Reading director of football Nick Hammond wants the youngster to deliver on his potential and break into the club's first-team.
"This is a well-earned contract for Oliver and now it's a big year for him," he said. "He was outstanding out on loan last year in a struggling team, all the reports we got back were first class.
"He deserved another year, this is a big season for him now and the challenge is to push for the first team."
Socceroo Bruce Djite has revealed he told Croatian giants Hajduk Split he wasn't interested after they made a move for his signature last month.
