Brisbane Roar midfielder Ben Halloran is heading to Europe after gaining a release from his A-League club to transfer to a German Bundesliga 2 club.
Brisbane did not reveal the club he would link with but it is believed to be Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Brisbane followed up news of Halloran’s departure this week by announcing the club’s first signing for next season, internationally-experienced midfielder Liam Miller.
The 32-year-old, who has spent the past two seasons with A-League club Perth Glory, played several years of his career with two of the world’s biggest football clubs – Celtic in the Scottish Premier League and current English Premier League champions Manchester United.
He also represented the Republic of Ireland more than 50 times at various levels.
Halloran signed with two-time A-League premiers Brisbane 12 months ago after kicking off his career with Gold Coast United the previous season under current Roar coach Mike Mulvey.
“We never want to stand in the way of a player pursuing their dreams overseas,” Roar managing director Sean Dobson said on Wednesday as Halloran became the latest player to exit the club after it failed to make it an A-League hat-trick season.
“As a club, we have a great tradition of footballers forging successful careers overseas.
“We’ve enjoyed having Ben here and we hope he goes on to do great things in Germany.”
The electric Halloran played 28 games for the Roar, scoring four goals, before landing a contract with the German club this month.
His latest career move is very similar to the path recently followed by 24 year-old Socceroo forward Robbie Kruse, who, after accepting a similar offer, is playing for Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Kruse played 83 A-League games with both the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory, scoring 23 goals before heading overseas to continue his career.
Source: AAP.
