A-League Soccer, 2023: French midfielder Jason Berthomier jets into Newcastle as squad shapes up against Sydney FC

Berthomier, 33, arrived in Australia late Tuesday night and will meet his new teammates before they take on Sydney FC in a friendly behind closed doors in Maitland on Wednesday.

"A new face will create a buzz for the players," Stanton said. "A foreigner will give the fans something different and hopefully he will entertain them, as well as provide leadership and professionalism for the boys."

Berthomier had two years remaining on his contract at French Ligue two club Valenciennes.

"He had been playing up until about three weeks ago and is still in reasonable condition," Stanton said. "It will take him a week or two to settle. If he is in a good space, I may be able to throw him into an in-house game and manage his loads.

"He has has been exposed to a high level and can be used in a number of roles in midfield. He is a lefty and they are always exciting to watch. I think he will give us a nice edge."

Before joining Valenciennes, Berthomier played 109 games with Clermont, which included the 2020-21 season in Ligue 1.

His agent Ben Khalfallah won an A-League championship with Melbourne Victory and also spent a season at the Brisbane Roar.

"Jason has played his entire career in France and was very interested in a change of lifestyle," Stanton said. "He had a two-year deal and negotiated a release. He has three young children and is very excited about being here."

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Baring a setback, Berthomier's first game against A-League opposition will be a friendly against Brisbane Roar in Coffs Harbour on September 21, which is the culmination of a four-day training camp.

With Reno Piscopo struggling with calf issues and Archie Goodwin being eased back after a second surgery on his back, Berthomier's arrival is timely.

Despite injuries to the key men, the Jets beat Central Coast 4-1 in a friendly last week.

Tom Aquilina (hamstring), Daniel Stynes (hamstring) and Lucas Mauragis, who is with the Australian under-23 squad in Tajikistan for Olympic qualifiers will miss the Sydney hit-out.

Stanton will use the match to "mix up the team". It is the second friendly against Stanton's former club after a scoreless draw on August 6.

"I want to test the depth of the squad," he said. "I'm not so much worried about the result, it is more the performance.

"I think they will be heavy. They have been doing a lot of volume and strength work. If we are flat, I want to see how we manage the game and manage what happens. I need to keep putting up little obstacles and see how they handle them. So far so good.

"I want us to be solid in the key areas - defending, attacking, transition. Sydney are a really good benchmark to test where we are at. We are the only team to have had a draw with them so far.

"We have nice competition between the players. Everyone is focused on taking steps forward."

As well as Sydney and Brisbane, the Jets have friendlies pencilled in against Macarthur (September 28) and Wanderers (October 13). There could also be a game with Wellington on October 6.

"That will give us eight or nine games against A-League opposition," Stanton said.

Stanton hopes to have Goodwin and Piscopo available for round one against Perth in the West on October 21.

"Archie is back doing light training," Stanton said. "He had fluid leaking on to his nerves. That was giving him spasms down his legs. He had to go back in for a clean up. They want us to take a conservative approach. At this stage he is on track for round one.

"Reno has been having issues in his calves. We are slowly building him up."