South Melbourne have lured Marcus Schroen back to Lakeside from Hume City in a massive coup for the NPL premiers.
The 22-year-old was a driving force of City’s league and FFA Cup runs this season, most notably being the hero of the Round of 32 comeback against Brisbane Strikers.
It was an emphatic return to full fitness for the youngster, whose 2014 at Dandenong Thunder was restricted to 11 games after being forced to overcome a second serious knee injury in his short career.
Schroen returns to the club for whom he made his senior debut as a 17-year-old in 2010.
He made his first move to South Melbourne as a junior in 2009, coming across from Monash City, before making his senior debut in his second year in the juniors.
He then made the move to Netherlands with Den Bosch, before an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee cut short his spell in Europe.
His ability saw him picked up by Melbourne Heart in 2013-14, where despite finishing the National Youth League campaign as the side’s top scorer, wasn’t offered a senior contract.
After being signed by Hume from Dandenong in 2015, Schroen went on to play 26 league games and score seven goals at the Broadmeadows based club.
“I have really enjoyed playing and being able to contribute to the [Hume] team throughout the season,” Schroen told the Corner Flag in September.
He is South’s second addition for 2016, joining teenager Luke Eyles, whose deal from Tasmanian Victory League side Olympia FC Warriors was completed mid-season.