With three months until the start of the 2022-23 Indian Super League, ATKMB are making moves in the transfer market. Their latest acquisition is Australian forward Dimitrios Petratos, the Mariners have confirmed via their official Twitter handle on July 18.
Petratos is the third overseas signing of the summer after Brendan Hamill and Florentin Pogba. The 29-year-old has played for Australia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and also has the experience of playing extensively in Asia.
“I am very excited to join the club, very excited to play in front of new fans and I am going to do my best to help the team achieve success, hopefully in all the competitions we play,”
the striker said in a video posted by the club.
Born in 1992, he came up through the Sydney Olympic youth system, making his debut for Sydney FC in 2011. However, due to a training session bust-up with teammate and goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac, he asked to be released from the squad, and this allowed him to join Malaysian Super League Champions Kelantan.
Petratos returned back to Australia with Brisbane Roar in 2013 on a one-year deal. With Roar, he scored the first hattrick of his professional football career against his former club Sydney. He also managed to grab a goal against Premier League heavyweights Liverpool in a friendly match.
The 2015-16 season proved to be the breakthrough year for Dimitrios as he seemed to be in the best form of his career. The striker scored a goal of the season contender against Melbourne City after his half volley from 35 metres net. He appeared in all of Brisbane’s 29 matches and finished with a career-high tally of seven goals and five assists.
He has spent a year in South Korea with Ulsan Hyundai but returned to Australia with Newcastle Jets to net 22 times in his 79 games before switching to Saudi Arabia side Al Wehda FC, who have loaned him to Western Sidney for the 2021-22 season.
Petratos is expected to take up the position of Roy Krishna at the centre of the ATK Mohun Bagan frontline. As announced by the club on Monday, the Fiji international will now represent Bengaluru FC.
