According to sources familiar with negotiations,who were not authorised to speak publicly,the transfer fee Villa will pay Adelaide United for the 23-year-old goalkeeper will eclipse the outbound Australian record for the third time in eight months. The deal could be officially announced as early as Thursday as Gauci,who is in Qatar with the Socceroos for the Asian Cup,has reportedly completed his medical.
For almost two decades,Zejlko Kalac’s 1995 move from Sydney United to Leicester City for $1.7 million was the benchmark. That changed last yearwhen Socceroo Jordan Bos was sold for over $2 million by Melbourne City to Belgian side KVC Westerlo - and then his ex-City teammate Marco Tilio broke the record again when he transferred to Celtic for a slightly bigger sum.
Gauci’s fee,sources say,is even bigger. While it amounts to little more than a rounding error for Aston Villa,it is vital money for any A-League club - and Adelaide United,who have also shifted Nestory Irankunda to Bayern Munich in a reported $1.75 million deal that will take effect at the end of the season,are exploiting the transfer market better than anyone,with champions Central Coast Mariners the sole exception.
Gauci has established himself as the A-League’s best goalkeeper over the last few seasons,as well as the number one challenger to Maty Ryan with the Socceroos,having recently deputised for the national team skipper during his recovery from a broken cheekbone.
His move will cap off a meteoric rise from obscurity. Only four years ago,Gauci was deemed surplus to requirements at Melbourne City,having been released by them and previously by the Mariners without playing a single A-League match. In between,he briefly returned to the NPL in South Australia.
When he signed for Adelaide United at the start of the 2020-21 campaign,he was again seen as a backup option - but when James Delianov failed a last-minute fitness test before a clash with Melbourne Victory he finally made his professional debut,and he hasn’t looked back.