Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Milan: Australia international defender Trent Sainsbury has joined the 18-time Italian champion FC Internazionale Milano on an unexpected deadline day move.
Sainsbury (pictured, left) joins the Nerazzurri on a six-month loan deal from China’s Jiangsu FC, a club he joined at the beginning of the 2016 Chinese Super League season.
The 25-year-old was a regular fixture in Jiangsu’s 2016 season – their most successful ever in China’s top flight – playing all but one CSL match as the club finished second, securing qualification for the 2017 AFC Champions League.
However, a change to China’s rules – which limits clubs to three foreign players on match days – coupled with the presence of Brazilian stars Ramires and Alex Texeira as well as Colombia’s Roger Martinez and Korea Republic’s Hong Jeong-ho meant Sainsbury became surplus to requirements, paving the way for the loan move.
For Sainsbury, the result is an opportunity to play for one of the world’s most famous and successful clubs, having been crowned champions of Europe on three separate occasions, most recently in 2010.
The move marks a sharp rise in the technically-proficient defender’s career, which has seen him win silverware in Australia with Central Coast Mariners and the Netherlands with PEC Zwolle,
He has also become a key figure in the Australian national team, culminating in a winner’s medal in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where he was voted Man of the Match in the final against Korea Republic.
Sainsbury will look to become the ninth Australian to appear in Serie A, and will hope to emulate the likes of Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella and Zellko Kalac, who all forged successful careers in Italy’s top flight.
Photo: AFP