Manchester City signing Anthony Caceres joins Melbourne on loan
To see a list of completed deals in the January window thus far, visit theScore's Premier League transfer tracker.
Midfielder Anthony Caceres has joined Melbourne City on loan from parent club Manchester City, just days after sealing a transfer from A-League side Central Coast Mariners for an undisclosed fee.
The 23-year-old will spend the rest of the 2015-16 season in Melbourne.
City Football Group, which owns the Melbourne outfit as well as City and New York City FC, has developed a football network across the globe. However, this transaction has raised suspicions of tampering in Australia, where A-League clubs cannot exchange players for any fee.
Moving to City first from Central Coast allowed Caceres to circumvent the rules, according to Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata:
The loaning of Caceres to City is wrong. How can @FFA allow this? There are no transfers between @ALeague clubs yet it seems you can by pass
— Tony Pignata (@tpignata9) January 19, 2016
Just one point to add. What City have done is totally within the rules. I just think that current @FFA rules need to be looked at.
— Tony Pignata (@tpignata9) January 19, 2016
Sydney FC had reportedly expressed interest in Caceres.