PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced on Friday the club had acquired midfielder Panos Armenakas via transfer from fellow USL Championship club Loudoun United FC. Armenakas will be available for selection in Rising FC’s match against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC this Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

“Panos is a great addition” said Rising FC Head Coach Juan Guerra. “He is someone we spent a lot of time watching in the offseason and we are excited to finally bring him to the Club. His technical ability combined with his work rate and tactical understanding will give us more options going forward.

“He comes in very hungry and ready to make an impact. I am sure he will fit in with his teammates and our style of play right away.”

Armenakas appeared in 12 matches in the USL Championship for Loudoun this season, recording one goal, one assist and 20 chances created. The 24-year-old has posted an 80.8 percent passing accuracy rate while ranking tied for 11th in the league with 20 completed dribbles.

“I am very excited to be joining a big club like Phoenix and looking forward to the rest of the season,” said Armenakas. “First step is to take it game by game and to try to integrate into the system as quickly as possible, help the team out to get wins and continue toward the positive.”

“I bring a lot of technical ability. I was brought here to try to hurt teams offensively as much as possible. I know that Phoenix is a big possession-based team. I can help with goals, assists, and hurting other teams by driving at them and creating as many chances as possible.”

Prior to his stint with Loudoun United, Amernakas played with Danish first-division side Vendsyssel. In 2015 while at Italian club Udinese, The Guardian named him one of the 50 Best Young Players in the world. He began his senior career at the seame club two years later when at the age of 19, he became the youngest Australian at the time to sign a professional contract with a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Armenakas has also played for the youth national teams of Greece (U17) and Australia (U17 and U23).