Melbourne Victory midfielder Terry Antonis is leaving the A-League and will continue his professional football career in Asia after signing a multi-year deal with K-League club Suwon Bluewings.

For the 25-year-old Sydney-born Antonis, it’s the second time he heads abroad to further his career following on from his move in 2015 when he left his then club Sydney FC to join Greek Super League club PAOK Thessaloniki.

Antonis returned to Australia at the beginning of 2018 when he signed with Victory and played a vital part in the team’s championship win that year scoring the winning goal in the semi-final that season against his former club Sydney FC. Now, 18 months and 53 games for Victory later, he heads off again in the hope of forging a professional career overseas.

His departure is a further blow to Victory as he joins a conga line of players exiting Victory’s midfield including retired skipper Carl Valeri, Keisuke Honda, Raul Baena and James Troisi.

Melbourne Victory’s General Manager of Football Operations Paul Trimboli, told the Melbourne Victory FC website: “Terry accomplished a lot in his time with us, but there is no doubt he will be remembered for a long time by our members and fans for that goal in the Semi-Final against Sydney FC and the championship that followed.

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“This is an opportunity that Terry wanted to pursue, and we thank him for his contributions to our success and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Antonis will join fellow ex-A League player Adam Taggart at Suwon, and is hoping he can duplicate the success enjoyed by Taggart since his move to the club from Brisbane Roar midway through the last A-League season. Taggart currently tops the K-League scoring charts with 11 goals from 19 matches, a feat that has brought him to the attention of Socceroos boss Graham Arnold.

Arnold knows Antonis well having coached the then 21 year old at Sydney FC before he departed for Greece. No doubt Arnold will be keeping a close eye on both these Aussie expats, and If Antonis can settle in and become an integral part of Suwon’s push for League and Cup honours, he stands a good chance of adding to his three Socceroos caps.

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