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Heidelberg United have pulled off the first signing of the mid-season transfer window by luring Ballarat City forward Michael Trigger to Olympic Village for the remainder of the campaign.
With the window set to open on May 23, the Bergers have gone public by announcing the 22-year-old as their second acquisition this week following the signing of Young Socceroos winger Alusine Fofanah.
A Ballarat local, Trigger made his debut for the senior team in 2011 aged 16 and was one of the emerging home-grown teenager talents alongside the likes of Stefan Nigro and Patrick Karras amongst others plying his trade for the Red Devils in the state’s third tier.
He made nearly 150 competitive appearances for the club now rebranded as Ballarat City and also featured under James Robinson in the club’s only top-flight campaign in 2014.
Since then he has been a key player in the NPL2 and in 2015 was at the heart of Ballarat’s upset 4-3 victory over the Bentleigh Greens in the FFA Cup fifth round, scoring twice.
The then 21-year-old agreed terms with Hume City ahead of the 2016 NPL season before returning to Ballarat as the regional outfit continued to punch above their weight in the second tier.
He had scored nine goals in 11 appearances this term which included a five-goal haul in a 7-0 triumph away to Bendigo City a fortnight ago to take his goal tally to club to an impressive 40 league goals.
A passionate figure on the pitch, Trigger is currently serving a four-game ban having collected his second red card of the year in last week’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Melbourne City Youth.
The attacker should be eligible to make his competitive debut for the Bergers in their Round 15 fixture away to Avondale at the end of next month, with his addition further boosting Heidelberg’s options up forward which already includes the likes of Kenny Athiu, Sean Ellis, Alusine Fofanah and Reuben Way.