According to a report from Slovenian sports outlet Nogomania, Andraž Struna is joining New York City FC on trial with an eye towards signing a contract running through the end of the 2017 MLS season.
Struna is a 28-year-old defender who is without a contract after his former club – the Scottish Premiership’s Hearts of Midlothian – failed to agree to an extension this summer.
Struna told the Edinburgh Evening News that it was his decision not to accept their contract offer, citing interest in clubs from Britain. That interest never materialized and Andraž Struna has found himself unattached.
Struna joined Hearts in January of 2017 and started primarily at the right-back position in 13 of the team’s 17 remaining matches. Prior to his time in Scotland he played for PAS Giannina F.C. in the Greek Superleague, Cracovia in the Polish Ekstraklasa and FC Koper in Slovenia. The six-foot tall defender had been a key player for Slovenia in international play through 2015, however his last international match came over a year ago on June 5, 2016.
Defender Dilemma
NYCFC manager Patrick Vieira had been looking to strengthen his squad’s depth prior to the close of MLS’ summer transfer window. City has brought in trialists in an attempt to sign a defender within their budget space. One of the players brought in on trial is English defender Tom Thorpe.
Tom Thorpe, a 24 yr old unattached CB, is on 10-day trial w/ #NYCFC. The @ManUtd Academy product last played for Bolton @MLSTransfers @MLS
— Glenn Crooks (@GlennCrooks) August 24, 2017
New York City FC are currently without defenders Ronald Matarrita and Maxime Chanot due to injury. Defenders Shannon Gomez and Jefferson Mena are out on loan.
NYCFC have one international spot available to them, meaning they could not sign both Thorpe and Andraž Struna. However, teams can still trade non-player assets after the close of the window, meaning NYCFC can still acquire another international roster spot if necessary.
Vieira will find himself with a depleted squad September 5th against Sporting Kansas City as David Villa (Spain), Alex Ring (Finland), Yangel Herrera (Venezuela) and Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica) have all been called to their national teams for World Cup Qualifiers.
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