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Aberdeen?s fourth recruit of the summer is Aussie international striker Kusini Yengi.Originally Posted by KincorthDon
The 26-year-old has signed a pre-contract and arrives on a free having spent two years with EFL Championship side Portsmouth.
?We were quite specific about the type of profile we had identified to play as a striker for Aberdeen and Kusini has a lot of the qualities we were after,? Jimmy Thelin said.
?He is tall, strong and quick, he will work hard for the team and lead the line. He has also proven at both Portsmouth and with the Socceroos that he can score goals on a consistent basis.
?It is important for us to have different profiles of players who can bring specific strengths to our shape and how we want to play. With European group stage football and a busy domestic schedule, he will play a ***** role for us in what we hope will be a competitive squad.?
The 6ft 2 front man, born in Australia but with both Sudanese and UK heritage, was a late bloomer and started his professional career with local side Adelaide Comets, before getting a move to Adelaide United.
Initially with the youth team, Kusini made his A-league debut against Western Sydney in February 2020 aged 21. One year later, he had registered his first goal and assist in a 2-1 win over local rivals Melbourne Victory.
He made 27 (14 starts) appearances for the Reds, scoring 6 times, before switching to Western Sydney in the summer of 2022.
As one of the most exciting talents in the league at the time, Yengi netted crucial goals against Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne to help Wanderers to a strong finish.
That form attracted the interest from abroad and Pompey paid an undisclosed fee to take him to Fratton Park in the summer of 2023.
He made a blistering start to life on the English south coast, scoring five times in his opening five matches. He also won his first call-up to the Australian National team in November of that year, deputising as a second half substitute against Bangladesh. He has gone on to score 6 times in 11 matches for the Socceroos.
Kusini Yengi
He?s netted 13 goals in 31 appearances for Pompey, helping them to lift the League One trophy that year. His second season in the Championship was hampered by injury and although he had offers to stay in England or move back overseas, he has chosen to join his brother Teti in Scotland.
Having completed all his paperwork, Kusini sat down with the RedTV team to chat about his move to the North-east.
He said: ?It feels great to be an Aberdeen player and I can?t wait to get started.
?I?m looking forward to playing here for several years. The manager and staff have all been very positive and their enthusiasm was one of the main reasons I chose to come here.
?I loved the project that was pitched to me. What the manager and coaches want to achieve and what they stand for. Where they think they can utilise me as a player to help the Club, so I was very excited.
?Every kid dreams of playing European football and playing for big Clubs like Aberdeen so I am very excited to play in those competitions and represent Aberdeen.?
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