After finding himself out of Venezia’s plans for the season, Andrija Novakovich has headed west, signing with fellow Serie B club Lecco on a one-season loan.
The move sees the American attacker move approximately 150 miles west to the scenic shores of Lake Como, where he will likely be in contention for a starting spot with the newly-promoted team.
“Calcio Lecco 1912 is pleased to announce that it has acquired the sporting services of Andrija Novakovich on a temporary basis for the 2023-24 season with the option to purchase,” the team announced.
The acquisition of the Wisconsin-born striker comes amidst a flurry of signings for the team, who are preparing for their delayed start to the Serie B season, following their promotion back to the division following a 50-year absence.
Due to their own home, the Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi, not meeting requirements for the division, they are set to play home games in the nearby city of Padua, in the Stadio Euganeo.
Lecco’s stadium situation did thrust a bit of uncertainty into their upcoming season during the summer. A back-and-forth legal case saw their initial application for the league denied, however an early-August decision confirmed their place in the division, although they do have to wait on the formal announcement on August 29 before beginning their slate of league games.
This sets their first home game for September 2 against another promoted team, Catanzaro, which will already be the fourth round of the new season.
Novakovich was acquired by Venezia last summer as they prepared for what they hoped would be a shot at promotion. While he did play in 35 games for the team, this only included a handful of starts, and dwindling minutes as the season wore on.
The three-times capped USMNT player had his best Serie B season three years ago with Frosinone, scoring 11 goals and assisting on a further six across only 33 games.
