THE Newcastle Jets are set to sign Panama international Abdiel Arroyo as they shift back to the fast-paced game that propelled the club to the A-League grand final in 2018.
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Arroyo has agreed to a loan deal and is due to arrive in Newcastle with his wife on August 1.
The 25-year-old is currently playing for Panama at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament and scored the opener in a 4-2 win over Guyana on Sunday.
Panama, who opened their account with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago and have secured a spot in the final eight, meet the USA in the final group game on Thursday.
Arroyo, who has scored eight goals in 18 games for his club side Arabe Unido, will lead the Jets attack after the departure of Roy O'Donovan. The Irishman, who officially joined the Brisbane Roar on Monday, scored 20 goals in 35 games for the Jets.
"Abdiel will bring an excitement factor," Jets CEO Lawrie McKinna said. "He has played 40-odd games for his national team and is only 25. That on its own tells you he has something. He has a reasonable goal-scoring record, but the thing that stood out to us was his pace. We have looked at a lot of footage. One of his goals, he has taken five metres off a guy over 20 metres and motored past him. When you have that pace and that build, you are hard to deal with."
For the goal against Guyana, Arroya used his pace to get in behind his defender at the near post. With the keeper rushing out, the striker chested the ball down and produced a neat finish.
"If you look at the goal, he is very quick and he is brave," McKinna said. "He could have been cleaned up by the keeper but he didn't hesitate and he was composed.
"When we had Andrew Nabbout here, our game was all about pace and going forward quickly," McKinna said.
"Abdiel has pace, he is big, he is brave. He is not a target man who is just going to get ball to feet. We have Kaine Shepherd who can do that. Ernie likes his strikers to be very fast. He has speed to burn."
Arroyo adds to an attack that already boasts speed machines Joey Champness and new arrivals Nick Fitzgerald and Matt Millar.
"Everyone saw what Matt Millar did last season at the Mariners," McKinna said.
"He can give you a threat from right back or push forward. When you are recruiting players, you look at who has caused you problems. Fitzy has always been hard to play against. His enthusiasm and high work rate. That is what we need. That's what we had in 2018."
The Jets have 19 players signed, plus scholarship holders Jack Simmons, Maki Petratos and Noah.
McKinna said they will replace Ivan Vujica, who has joined new club Western United, but not necessarily with another left fullback.
"We will sit back and see how everything looks," McKinna said.
In the lead up to the CONCAF Gold Cup, Panama played friendlies against a Luis Suarez-led Uruguay and Colombia, going down 3-0 in both.
Arroyo will return to his club side before departing for Newcastle.
"He will be playing up until he gets here," McKinna sad. "Once here, we will see where he is at. He may have a a bit of a rest or do a modified program. Hopefully he will be available for the FFA Cup."