Neptunes player Steve Camilleri is to pursue his career abroad after agreeing to join Serbian club VK Partizan for a six-month loan spell.
VK Partizan set their sights on Camilleri after receiving raving reviews on the 20-year-old from Vladimir Vukasinovic, who helped Neptunes retain the local waterpolo league title this summer.
Partizan coach Darko Udovicic invited the promising Camilleri for a one-week trial in Belgrade and was clearly impressed with the potential of the Neptunes stalwart.
Last week, the Serbian club received the green light from Neptunes to sign Camilleri on loan for six months, during which period he will be registered with the first team and will be eligible to play for the six-times European champions in both the Serbian championship and the prestigious European League.
"I am really pleased that Steve has earned this exciting opportunity," Neptunes president Matthew Bonello told The Sunday Times yesterday.
"He is undoubtedly one of the brightest players to come out of our club and we are really hoping that he can make the grade during his spell with Partizan.
"For Steve this is a great chance to start a professional career in waterpolo. Partizan are one of the best teams in Europe. Suffice to say that last season they finished third in the Euro League, which is the equivalent of the Champions League in football.
"I'm sure that by training with some of the best players on the continent, Steve Camilleri will improve his game immensely. Hopefully, come next March, he will have done enough to be offered a long-term contract by VK Partizan."