Manchester City have completed the signing of Aaron Mooy from fellow City Football Group club Melbourne City, according to a statement on the Australian team’s website. He becomes the second signing of the summer under Pep Guardiola, but is likely to be quickly followed by others.
Mooy is regarded as not only one of Melbourne City’s best players but one of the brightest recent talents to stake a claim for a place in the Australian national team. He joined in 2014, while the club was still called Melbourne Heart, and has remained through the transition into the City Football Group-owned club.
Despite a large amount of transfer activity occurring between the Manchester and Melbourne arms of the Group, this is the first to happen with a player moving permanently to England from the A-League. Other moves have seen both Luke Brattan and Anthony Caceres move on loan to Melbourne from The Blues, having signed from Australian clubs. This has caused some controversy, as it is a way to bypass the rules saying A-League clubs cannot sign players from other A-League clubs.
When Mooy moved to Melbourne City from Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014, he was described by the manager, former Ajax and Netherlands man John van ‘t Schip as “one of the best young Australian players.” He has gone on to show that for both club and country, last season breaking the A-League record for assists, with 21 in 26 games. He also scored 11 goals from central midfield.
Whilst Mooy is the second signing of the summer for Manchester City, he is likely to be followed quickly through the door by Celta Vigo winger Nolito, who is in the north-west to complete a move to the Premier League.
