Singh move brings equal joy for Rufer
Alex Rufer says he is rapt for his former Wellington Phoenix teammate Sarpreet Singh after the talented Kiwi midfielder secured a potentially life-changing move to Bayern Munich this month.
As well as linking up on the pitch, Rufer and Singh are also tight off it. They flatted together last season and Rufer said he considers Singh a close friend.
So he was just as excited as Singh when the European powerhouse club started showing interest in the 20-year-old on the back of his performances at the under20 World Cup and ultimately signed him to a three-year reserve team contract.
‘‘That’s awesome, eh. I lived with Sarpreet last year, he’s a good mate of mine and good on him. He deserves everything [that comes his way]. He worked hard and hopefully we can get a few more boys over there,’’ Rufer said.
Having remained in Munich since he put pen to paper, Singh has already played two preseason games with Bayern’s reserve team and even registered an assist in his first outing.
He is now in contention to join Bayern’s first team on their tour of the United States.
Rufer has kept in close contact with Singh over the past two weeks and said he was loving his new surroundings, training at Bayern’s state-of-the-art facilities on a daily basis.
‘‘He’s been working hard and said he’s been loving it, so good on him.’’
Rufer said the transfer also served as a reminder to other Phoenix players that major European clubs were keeping a close eye on the A-League.
‘‘As we saw with Sarpreet, he’s a class player and a massive club came in and got him so hopefully this season a few more youngsters can come in and do well and they can go over and join him,’’ he said.
But while it has been hailed as the biggest transfer in the club’s history, Singh’s departure leaves the Phoenix with only seven returning players, forcing a major rebuild under new coach Ufuk Talay.
Although Rufer is coming off his first season as a regular starter, playing a career-high 25 games during the 2018-19 campaign, the 23-year-old has quickly found himself as one of the senior figures in a very youthful looking squad.
A strong candidate to replace Andrew Durante as captain, Rufer said he was doing his best to lead by example throughout the pre-season regardless of whether he gets the arm-band.
The Phoenix’s first pre-season game will be against Central League side Wairarapa United in Masterton on July 24.