Photo: Northcote City
Northcote City continue their impressive recruitment drive, adding St Albans Saints midfielder Josh Knight and Moreland Zebras’ Baggio Yousif to their roster for the upcoming NPL2 campaign.
The exciting Yousif was in form in front of goal in the 2016 campaign, securing a personal best haul of 13 goals from 25 appearances for the Zebras and will again link with former teammates James Papadimitriou and Danny Charalambous, who both joined the club midway through last year.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at South Melbourne, making his VPL debut in 2012, and totalling four appearances and a goal for the club in his two years in the senior squad.
He then made the move to Brunswick City in 2014, where he earned his stripes in the NPL1 with regular game time before making the switch to Moreland in 2015.
The forward combined expertly with the aforementioned Papadimitruou and Charalambous in a deadly front three for the Zebras in 2015, combining for a total of 36 goals that campaign.
In total, Yousif secured a return of 17 goals from 47 appearances during his time at CB Smith Reserve – including two hat-tricks – and will look to further his game at the recently relegated outfit.
25-year-old midfielder Knight moves to John Cain Memorial Reserve after spending 2016 with the St Albans Saints whom he helped achieve promotion to the top flight.
The central midfielder scored three goals in 27 league appearances for Dinamo in a standout campaign for player and club with the Welshman being named in the NPL2 West Team of the Season alongside Yousif.
A Welsh youth international, Knight spent time in the youth ranks of West Bromwich Albion before enjoying spells with Swansea City and Torquay United respectively.
He featured for Hume City in the 2013 VPL Campaign before moving to Richmond SC the following year, making 25 appearances for the 2010 Premiers and netting twice as the club missed out on automatic promotion back into the top flight after finishing the season in fourth.
The midfielder elected to stay at Kevin Bartlett Reserve for the 2015 campaign with newly appointed Northcote City manager Zeljko Kuzman joining the coaching staff at the club as an assistant to Rick Mensink.
Knight scored seven times from 25 league appearances as Alemannia clinched promotion to the NPL top-flight, although he departs Churchill Reserve to re-unite with former manager Kuzman who was appointed at the helm of Northcote in late-September.
The pair are signings number three and four of the Kuzman era after goalkeeper Griffin McMaster and English defender Nathan Cook joined the club earlier in the off-season.
Following on from the earlier re-signings of goalkeeper Phil Petrovski and former Zebras pair James Papadimitriou and Danny Charalambous, the club have also confirmed the re-signings of winger Anthony Ramzy, versatile full-back Anthony Taranto, and left-back Nicholas Bavcar.
Following a short departure from the club, Bavcar is excited to be back in Northcote colours. However the 21-year-old is under no illusions as to how challenging the 2017 season will be in order to achieve the goal of automatic promotion, following relegation this season.
“We know it will be a difficult year because quite a few teams are in the same boat but our main goal as a team will be to push for promotion.” Bavcar said.
The recent appointment of Kuzman was a crucial factor in his decision to sign with the club, and is hopeful of achieving an injury-free 2017 season.
“I’ve had some good chats with Zeljko which were all very positive. He is probably the main reason why I decided to re-sign at the club.”
“Zeljko is a great guy. He’s down to earth and confident in his own coaching methods, which instills belief into us as players that we can work together and achieve big things this season.”
“Individually it’s just about playing a good, consistent year and hopefully injury-free.”
Taranto joined mid-season from Nunawading City and the youngster is capable of playing on either defensive flank.
The 19-year-old is the older brother of Melbourne Victory W-League pair Melissa and Adriana Taranto and he himself has spent time in the NYL system with Melbourne City.
Former Western Suburbs and Box Hill United winger Anthony Ramzy commits to the club for another year after an injury-riddled season, which saw him miss two months of football in the early stages of the season.
He showcased his talents with some good performances in 2015, and was one of Northcote’s better performances in the back end of the campaign just gone.