Jets sign Italian striker to 6-month deal

Australian A-League's Newcastle Jets have signed former Serie A Italian forward Fabio Vignaroli to a six-month deal.

The 32-year-old Vignaroli has played with several clubs in Italy's top flight, including Modena, Parma and Lazio.

"The greatest attribute that Fabio brings to our club is a tremendous amount of experience in one of the biggest and most competitive leagues in the world," Jets chief executive John Tsatsimas said Sunday.

After a successful stint with Salernitana in Serie B, Vignaroli moved to a series of clubs in Italy, Greece and Scotland with few goals.

The signing continues the Jets' attempts to strengthen their squad for the Asian Champions League this year. They have also recently signed Australians Sasho Petrovski, Ljubo Milicevic and Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Dutch striker Donny de Groot.

"We believe that our signings over this past week, Fabio very much included, will see us enter the Champions League with positive energy and forward momentum," Tsatsimas said.

Newcastle qualified for Asia by winning the A-League championship in the 2007-2008 season. The Jets finished in last place in the recently concluded domestic season.