Australia international Matthew Spiranovic move to China

Australia international defender Matthew Spiranovic has agreed a transfer to the Chinese Super League, leaving a substantial hole in the pre-season plans of Wanderers coach Tony Popovic.

It’s believed the club had received more than one offer for the centre-back in recent days, and it emerged that a fee has been agreed with an unnamed club in China.

While the move will be lucrative for Spiranovic, it leaves Popovic without a player integral to his intention to play a more progressive style of football.

Widely seen as the best ball-playing defender in the A-League, Spiranovic also played as a holding midfielder at times last season.

Though Popovic has Brendan Hamill and captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley to play in the heart of defence, neither has Spiranovic’s comfort in possession and the Wanderers coach is likely to accelerate the search for a similarly composed replacement.

Having played for clubs in Germany, Japan and Qatar, Spiranovic returned to the Wanderers in 2013 to recover from a long-standing ankle injury, doing so to the extent he was a key man for Ange Postecoglou at last year’s World Cup.