Chris Ikonomidis joins the fresh Melbourne Victory squad alongside Matthew Spiranovic, Jason Geria, Jason Davidson, Josh Brillante and Stefan Nigro.
The 26-year-old has signed a three-year deal rejoining his old coach, Tony Popovic.
Ikonomidis was a key part of Perth Glory’s 2018/19 Premiership-winning squad under the coach, where he played with Spiranovic, Geria and Davidson.
The young footballer joined Perth Glory, also for three years, after his debut A-League stint with the Western Sydney Wanderers and went on to make 41 A-League appearances, scoring 16 goals for the club.
His Glory days also helped him re-established himself in the Socceroos squad, playing with the national team at the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The attacker was initially called up to the Socceroos senior squad by Ange Postecoglou in March 2015 and was capped despite not yet having played a single senior game at club level at the time.
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Victory’s new head coach shared his delight in Ikonomidis joining the team.
“Chris has fantastic qualities that will excite the fans and also add an extra dimension to the team,” Popovic said.
“His ambition and humility are key qualities that we want, need and expect from all members of our squad and he will lead by example in this regard.”
Ikonomidis also seems to be excited to rejoin some of his old Glory teammates and coach.
“I know Matthew Spiranovic, Jason Geria and Jason Davidson from my time in Perth so it will be great to get out on the pitch with them again as well as the larger team,” Ikonomidis said.
“One of the key reasons for my move to Melbourne Victory was the chance to play under the Boss again. I know how he likes to operate and his expectations, and I am confident I can work with and deliver on both.”
Ikonomidis will join Marco Rojas as the Club’s second designated player for the 2021/22 season.