World Cup-star Toivonen joins Melbourne Victory

Melbourne Victory have announced the signing of star Swedish striker Ola Toivonen on a two-year contract.

Ola Toivonen celebrates a Sweden win during the FIFA World Cup Source: Getty Images

An accomplished striker at both club and international level, Toivonen was one of the most prominent Swedish players at the World Cup, scoring for Sweden against Germany in Russia.

He enjoyed a number of seasons at Dutch giant PSV Eindhoven before making the move to France with Ligue 1 sides Rennes and Toulouse.

Toivonen also spent a season in the English Premier League with Sunderland in 2015.

In what is a major coup for the Club, Head Coach Kevin Muscat was delighted to have secured yet another quality international player to compliment the recent signings of Keisuke Honda and Georg Niedermeier.

“Ola brings proven quality to our attack and he will play a big role in leading our forward line this season," Muscat said.

“He is exactly the kind of player we wanted to recruit, he is an accomplished striker so I’m delighted he’s decided to come to Melbourne.

“We still have one visa spot available and we’re working hard to add even more quality to our ranks.”

Toivonen made it clear that he was coming to Australia to be successful.

“I know Melbourne Victory is a big club in Australia, they won the Championship last year and they’re playing in the Champions League,” Toivonen said.

“If you go on an adventure, you want the possibility of winning, you want to win something.

“With the squad that has been assembled, including Keisuke, Georg and myself, I think we can do some good things this year.”

Toivonen is set to arrive in Australia in mid-September.