Melbourne Victory recruit Daniel Mullen says he is ready to make his debut for the club in Saturday’s clash with Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park.
Melbourne Victory recruit Daniel Mullen says he is ready to make his debut for the club in Saturday’s clash with Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park.
Mullen, 23, joined Victory on loan from Chinese side Dalian Aerbin, where he spent seven months following a stint with Adelaide United.
The versatile defender believes he can make an immediate impact for Victory towards the business end of the season.
“I’ve just come back from a five-week pre-season in China, so if I’m required this week I’m more than ready to step up,” he said.
Mullen said a fear of the unknown in China prompted him to return to Australia, where the opportunity to join Victory was too good to refuse.
“I had a really successful season with Dalian. We had a great team and everything was going well,” he said.
“The two Dalian clubs merged, and from that there was a big turnaround in coaches and administration.
“We had a pre-season camp and I decided that it was probably a better option for me to come back to the A-League.
“It was more of the unknown. There were a lot of questions that weren’t being answered.
“As soon as this offer came about it was a no-brainer for me, so I didn’t even consider anything else.”
Victory football operations manager Paul Trimboli said the club were rapt to secure Mullen before the league’s transfer period ended on Monday.
“It can be an unsettling period but it can also be a good period where you can bring players in,” he said.
“We’ve done a little bit of business, the final piece being Daniel.
“We’ve always tried to increase the quality of the squad that we’ve got at our disposal.
“We’re right in the hunt for the top two, which we think is important and we’ve got seven matches to go, so we really need to have our best team out there.
“The more quality in the squad pushing for positions, the better.”
Meanwhile, Victory forward Archie Thompson will miss Saturday’s game due to a hamstring injury.
Thompson trained only once before last week’s 1-0 loss to Adelaide United and was brought off in the first half at Hindmarsh Stadium.
