THE Newcastle Jets have moved to fill the gap left by Archie Goodwin, with promising Melbourne Victory attacker Eli Adams set to join the A-League club.
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Adams has been in talks with the Jets for weeks and is understood to have agreed to terms on a two-year deal.
The 22-year-old left footer has spent the past two years at Victory, making 15 appearances, initially on a scholarship.
The rangy winger featured in 10 games last season in the A-League and scored a contender for goal of the year against Perth in round 11.
Collecting the ball near the right touchline, he cut inside, beat a defender with a step-over and then curled a left-foot shot from the edge of the 18-yard box which nestled in the top-left corner.
Adams has most recently been playing in the VPL1 for Victory and has scored six goals in nine appearances.
Before linking with Victory, Adams had two seasons with the Brisbane Roar.
He made his A-league debut aged 19 in a 2-0 loss to Sydney FC in 2021 and went on to make eight appearances before recruited bu Victory.
The Jets confirmed last week the departure of attackers Goodwin, Reno Piscopo, Daniel Stynes and Trent Buhagiar.
Goodwin is expected to join Adelaide, Piscopo is understood to have signed with Melbourne Victory and Buhagiar is headed to Italy.
It is hoped that Adams could follow a similar path to Clayton Taylor, who was one of the finds of the season.
Taylor netted seven goals and supplied to assists in 25 games.
Coach Rob Stanton is also in talks with an overseas striker.
The Jets assemble for preseason training on June 24.
The sale of the club to a consortium of Melbourne and Sydney businessmen is expected to be finalised by then.
The Herald understands that members of the consortium were in Newcastle last week, working with staff. The sale is subject to approval from Football Australia.
Meanwhile, Jets goalkeeper coach Chris Bowling is in South America with the Young Socceroos.
Bowling is assisting head coach Trevor Morgan. The Young Socceroos play Uruguay Montevideo on June 5, before relocating to Santiago for back-to-back matches against Chile on June 8 and 11.
The Jets do not have a representative in the under-19s Australian squad.
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
