JoyfulPenguin
Well-Known Member
Well lets look around the league at his options. (The evaluation rates whether the club would be willing to put an offer in.)
Adelaide United:
Just released him and have signed replacements at right wing (his position when he played there) such as Marc Marino and Ryan Kitto.
Evaluation: Highly Unlikely
Brisbane Roar:
Have Thomas Broich, Dimitri Petratos, (a rumoured visa 10), Shannon Brady, Tommy Oar, Brandon Borrello and Jesse Daley in the positions he can play. They are also unstable ownership wise and look unlikely to sign anyone until that is sorted.
Evaluation: Highly Unlikely
Melbourne City:
John Van't Schip was always unwilling to play Mate as a 10 so I will only count right wingers here, they have Corey Gamerio, Nick Fitzgerald, Steve Kuzmanovski, Stefan Zinni, Chris Cristaldo and Luke Gallo. Van't Schip was also the coach that released Mate so I highly he doubt he would rate him more after a season in which he contributed barely anything at Adelaide. Melbourne is Mate's hometown however so if City are at all interested he may end up back there.
Evaluation: Moderately Unlikely
Melbourne Victory:
Victory have never signed a former Heart/City player. Though they only have Nigro and an NPL player in Jose Carvallo as a 10,I highly doubt that they won't sign a visa 10. They have Fahid Ben Khallfallah, Jai Ingham and Lucas Derrick at right wing.
Evaluation: Fairly Unlikely
Newcastle Jets:
At number 10 our F3 rivals have Devante Clut and Mitch Cooper at right wing they have Andrew Hoole and Andy Brennan. The Jets are probably our biggest competitor for Mate's signature at the moment however they may go for a visa right winger to replace Enver Alivodic.
Evaluation: Likely
Perth Glory:
Perth have three experienced options at 10 in Diego Castro, Nebojsa Marinkovic and Richard Garcia they also have plenty of options at right wing with Chris Harold, Jamal Reiners, Kosta Petratos and in a pinch Adam Taggart or Richard Garcia.
Evaluation: Highly Unlikely
Sydney FC:
Sydney have Miloš Ninković, Miloš Dimitrijevič at 10 they also have Filip Hološko at right wing there is a possible opening here for Mate though only at minimum wage and most likely third choice, as Sydney are always keen to spend as much as they can on foreigners.
Evaluation: Possible
Wellington Phoenix:
The 'Nix have a plethora of options at 10 with Gui Finkler, Alex Rodriguez, Alex Rufer, Matt Ridenton, James McGarry and Logan Rogerson then they have Roy Krishna, Michael McGlinchy, Kosta Barbarouses and Louis Fenton at right wing.
Evaluation: Highly Unlikely
Western Sydney Wanderers:
At 10 they have Mitch Nichols, Steven Lustica, Liam Youlley as for right wingers they have Jaushua Sotirio, Shannon Cole and Jackson Bandiera. The Wanderers are another of the clubs who spend the total of the cap and look to spend as much as possible on their foreigners I doubt they would offer Mate more than minimum and third choice if even that.
Evaluation: Possible
There are only three other clubs in the A-League who could possibly (and that's being very generous) have a spot for Mate. Sydney FC and the Wanderers always try and squeeze as much out of the salary cap as possible so I highly doubt they would pay more than the minimum $55,000 for a washed up if slightly experienced utility forward. The Jets would look to be our main competitor but have yet to sign their foreigners, though it is worrying that their owner has stated that they will use the home grown player exemptions from the cap. I would doubt they would offer him much more than minimum however as they appear to be looking at a visa winger as well as a visa 10. All in all I would say that somewhere between $55,000 and $80,000 would secure Mate with 289,000 being left over for a 10 in a best case scenario and 260,000 in the worst.
Last edited:
