Brisbane Roar has done it before with Thomas Broich and Besart Berisha. Now they hope their policy of trying to unearth lesser-known 'gems' continues in the form of new recruit Mensur Kurtisi, a 28-year-old striker signed on a one-year-deal.

The Roar have managed to replace one Albanian in Berisha, now playing for Melbourne Victory, with another in Kirtisi, who counts himself as Albanian despite have two caps for Macedonia.

Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey. Credit:Getty Images

He arrives in Brisbane from FK Shkëndija (Macedonia) and has also enjoyed stints in Kazakhstan, the UAE, Saudia Arabia and Austria. His week at Roar training at Ballymore has been his first visit to Australia.

Although clubs like Sydney FC (Alessandro Del Piero) and the newly formed Melbourne City (Frank Lampard, David Villa) have secured high-profile signatures for at least part of the upcoming season, the A-League champions remain committed to searching far and wide for players that fit their patterns and culture.