A new-look Wollongong Wolves squad is starting to take shape with another former A-League player - Mirza Muratovic - signing on to play for the David Carney-coached outfit.
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The 22-year-old signed from Queensland NPL club Gold Coast, has also had stints in the elite Australian competition with Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix.
Muratovic has spent time in Wollongong previously, while a member of the Phoenix squad which were based in Wollongong and forced to play their games in Australia during the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Muratovic fell in love with the area in his time in Wollongong and told the Mercury he was eager to play for the Wolves.
"I'm very excited to be part of the Wolves team for the 2023 season," he said.
"[I'm] looking forward to having a successful year with them and being part of their history. Wolves are a club that has high ambitions to further grow as a team and club, so to be part of this team was a simple decision to make.
"The NSW NPL is also a strong competitive level which will hopefully further develop me as a player."
Muratovic added the opportunity to work under former Socceroo David Carney was something that excited him.
"After speaking to Carney, the Wolves have a project for the next few years that looks exciting and promising so I am looking forward to being a part of that," he said.
"Carney himself had a successful career in football and after speaking to him he is just as ambitious to match that as a coach, which I know will only push me as a player."
Muratovic has four A-League goals in 21 appearances for both the Roar and the Phoenix.
Head coach Carney said that Muratovic was the perfect fit for his 'new look' Wolves outfit.
"[This season] I'm building on a younger squad," the former A-League championship-winning player said.
"I had a chat with [former Socceroo] Scott McDonald who Mirza used to work under and he said he was the most technical player in his team up there.
"He [Mirza] liked everything about the club, especially that it's a family club and that there's that opportunity to go places with the potential for a National Second Division spot around the corner,"Carney said.
He added that the team this season would be vastly different from the squad that finished out of the finals spots last year.
"It's definitely going to be a new squad [from last season]," he said. "And hopefully it's a young and fresh team.
"I'm definitely going to give opportunities to the younger ones as well coming through. The signings that we have made and are going to make will be be quality ones with a lot of pace but I'm also going to give the young ones an opportunity which is something for them to strive for."
The Wolves roster is not yet complete and more signings are in the works.
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