Phoenix to go shopping for player
Wellington Phoenix will use this month’s transfer window to make a long-term player signing.
Coach Ufuk Talay said he plans to bolster his squad by recruiting an additional player to combat the absence of Louis Fenton and Reno Piscopo.
Fenton underwent seasonending shoulder surgery after dislocating a shoulder in round four, while Piscopo will miss the Phoenix’s next three to four games after being selected in Australia’s Asian Under-23 Championship squad.
The transfer window opens on Friday.
‘‘We are looking at the moment,’’ Talay said. ‘‘It’s got to be a good decision on the player that we bring in and what he brings to the team and also what areas he can influence within the team.
‘‘There’s no rush, we’ve got a few more days until the window opens and we’ll go from there.’’
But while Talay is on the hunt for a player to help his team’s playoffs push — the Phoenix are in sixth place after 12 rounds — he said any prospective signing will be made with the 2020-21 campaign in mind.
‘‘The way I’m looking at it it’s for the next season as well, building a consistent squad and building a consistent culture,’’ he said.
‘‘It won’t be signing a player to play until the end of the season, it’ll be a player that can add value for the season after.
‘‘We’ll look at the Kiwis and the Aussie boys as well, but for me it’s about [signing] the player who can add the most value coming in in January and also moving forward looking at it long-term.
‘‘As I’ve said from day one, the aim is to have 14-15 players by the end of the season so we don’t have to start from scratch and we can build on what we’ve done.’’
Meanwhile, Talay plans to do his best to keep hold of young star Liberato Cacace until the remainder of the season, saying that he has ‘‘no interest’’ in selling the teenage defender in January.
Cacace is tipped to follow Sarpreet Singh to Europe but at this stage is yet to receive a concrete offer from overseas. His current contract runs until the end of 2020-21.