Football: Wellington Phoenix sign Serbian striker

Andrija Kaluderovic scored against the Phoenix last season. Photo / Getty

The Wellington Phoenix have signed Serbian striker Andrija Kaludjerović for the 2017/18 A-League season.

The 30-year-old has enjoyed a 14-year professional career, playing for clubs in Serbia, China, Spain, Cyprus, Switzerland, Qatar, Lithuania and most recently Thailand.

His most significant spells were at Serbian SuperLiga sides FK Rad, where he scored 21 goals in 45 games, and the country's biggest club Red Star Belgrade, scoring 19 times in 43 appearances.

His 13 goals for Red Star Belgrade in 2011 saw him finish the year as equal top scorer in the SuperLiga and earned him a place in the competition's Team of the Year.

Kaludjerović also had a brief previous stint in the A-League with Brisbane Roar in 2015, where current Phoenix assistant coach Rado Vidosic was on the coaching staff.

In ten appearances for the Roar he scored five goals, including one against the Phoenix in a game which was eventually called off early due to a waterlogged pitch.

Kaludjerović, who stands 180cm tall and weighs 74kg, has played three times for Serbia at full international level and six times for his country's under-23 and under-21 teams.

He is a strong centre forward who shoots with both feet and is a set-piece specialist.

With the departures of Kosta Barbarouses and Shane Smeltz, acquiring a goalscorer has been a priority for new Phoenix head coach Darije Kalezic.

Kaludjerović is the fifth of the allowed five overseas players on the Phoenix roster, joining Roy Krishna (Fiji), Marco Rossi (Italy), Gui Finkler (Brazil) and Goran Paracki (Croatia).

It also brings to five the signings made by Kalezic, joining Paracki and Australians Scott Galloway, Daniel Mullen and Dario Vidosic.

The Phoenix open their A-League season on October 8 at home to Adelaide United.