Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has been inundated with agents offering players but the Sky Blue mentor vows to bring only the very best to Moore Park after two key players were lost to injury.
Arnold said injured duo Ali Abbas and Corey Gamiero – both gone for the season with serious knee problems – were recovering well from their operations and in good spirits.
“I only want to bring players that will strengthen the starting XI. I want competition for places and we need depth in the squad.”
Sydney is searching far and wide for a couple of injury-replacements to strengthen the squad once the January transfer window opens.
“I’m not going to bring out someone to sit on the bench and just to put depth in the squad. I want to bring out quality otherwise I’ll give Australian kids a go.”
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues are preparing for a huge test when they meet undefeated Melbourne Victory this weekend.
It will be interesting to see how the Sky Blues respond from their first defeat of the season last week, after looking particular strong over the opening two months of the campaign.
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“One thing is for sure though is their confidence hasn’t been rattled by it,” Arnold said of his players.
“They walked off the field the same way I did, thinking we probably should have won the game. We probably rode our luck in games before that and things normally balance out over time.
“But confidence is high, the boys are always excited to play Victory in front of a big crowd and we’re looking forward to it.”