Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip feels new signing Mate Dugandzic’s versatility makes him an important asset for the side next season.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip feels new signing Mate Dugandzic-s versatility makes him an important asset for the side next season.
Capable of playing across the entire gamut of positions in the final third of the park, van ‘t Schip feels Dugandzic has demonstrated significant promise across his period in the Hyundai A-League to date.
“He’s a player we are very happy to sign. A young, talented player and a player we think we can use very well up forward. We’ve seen him play a lot of games and he can play in different positions, so we are happy we have signed him up. We hope to see a lot of good things from him,” he said.
As the first player to make the direct switch across town, van ‘t Schip believes Dugandzic-s signing will add another chapter to the already burgeoning rivalry between Heart and its cross town rivals.
“He comes from Victory, which makes it a little special. But I think this will happen more times in the future that players from the two clubs will change. Mate is the first one. Maybe that says we made a good impression overall. We’ve shown that we want to play a certain way of football,” he said.
With 19 players under contract for next season, Heart will remain active on the transfer market as the Club looks to secure a replacement for now Youth Team Head Coach John Aloisi.
Van ‘t Schip says the recent arrivals of rising stars Dugandzic and Good demonstrates the Heart has made a significant impression during its debut season.
“There’s a lot of future in the Heart. That could be one of the things that helped Mate make that decision. I think it’s a compliment to the whole club,” he said.
