Manchester City agree deal for Caceres from Australia’s Central Coast Mariners

REUTERS – Manchester City have agreed to sign Australian midfielder Anthony Caceres from Central Coast Mariners, the A-League club said in a statement on Friday.

The 23-year-old will become the Premier League club’s first signing of the January transfer window.

Reports in the Australian media have suggested Caceres could be loaned to City’s sister club Melbourne City – the Mariners’ A-League rivals – as he does not hold a European passport and so might struggle to gain a work permit.

Caceres, who has made 62 league appearances for the Mariners since joining them in 2012, has not played for the A-League’s bottom club since the end of December, when reports that he was about to leave emerged.

Mariners confirmed his transfer on their website. The fee was not disclosed.

“When I brought Anthony Caceres to the Mariners his potential was obvious,” Mariners coach Tony Walmsley said. “This move demonstrates how far Anthony has progressed.”

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet)