Shkendija starting keeper Suat Zendeli has left the club to join newly promoted Romanian side Petrolul while Shkendija has signed Marko Jovanovski to offset the loss of Zendeli.
The 30 year old Zendeli has left Shkendija by joining Romanian top division club Petrolul from the city of Ploieşti. Zendeli was arguably one of the few bright spots for Shkendija during their two qualifying games against Partizan earlier this month as without him, Shkendija would have suffered heavier losses especially in the first leg. Zendeli ultimately conceded five goals in the two games against Partizan but was one of the better performers for Shkendija. Petrolul was newly promoted this season and they introduced the players to their fans today and Zendeli was unveiled as one of the two new signings. Zendeli was brought to provide some depth and should be the backup keeper to starter Eduard Zimmermann.
Shkendija did not waste time replacing Zendeli as Marko Jovanovski from heated rivals Teteks has joined the defending Macedonian champions. Jovanovski becomes the third Teteks player to leave for Shkendija after Nenad Miskovski and Miroslav Jovanovski. Teteks is facing serious financial difficulties and many of their key players have already left the club due to the uncertain future of the Tetovo based club. Teteks has been unable to find a sponsor and the club could be removed from the top division altogether with Tikves being mentioned as the most likely club to take Teteks’ place in the Macedonian top division.
Jovanovski is a 23 years old keeper and was drawing interest from both Shkendija and Rabotnicki. He was formerly a member of the Macedonian U21 national team and is considered one of the better young keepers in Macedonia. He is expected to battle with Hadis Velii for the starting keeper job in Shkendija now that the veteran keeper Zendeli has left the club.
Highlights of Marko Jovanovski: