The Isuzu UTE A-League off-season is in full swing for clubs no longer partaking in the finals series, with Wellington Phoenix the latest club in recent weeks to announce a number of player departures.
Jaushua Sotirio, Gael Sandoval, Gary Hooper, James McGarry, Matthew Bozinovski, Kurtis Mogg and George Ott won’t be returning to the ‘Nix next season, the club announced on Monday morning.
A statement released by the club also suggested Phoenix star Reno Piscopo is “considering his options” as his current contract concludes.
Sandoval was a breakout star for Wellington in 2021-22, scoring six goals and notching five assists in his first A-League Men’s campaign after joining the club from Club Deportivo Guadalajara in Mexico.
Sotirio, meanwhile, showed clear signs of improvement this season under head coach Ufuk Talay, who brought him to the club as one of his first signings in 2019.
“(Sotirio is) a player that has really good attributes and is a top character and a top person,” Talay said.
“Jaushy has grown as a player and an individual as well. When we initially signed Jaushy, he was a natural winger and we have turned him into a striker.
“It’s taken him time to adapt but he’s made an impact when we’ve used him starting games and he’s made some massive impact and scored goals at the back end of games when we’ve brought him on and made changes.”
Sotirio’s eight goals for the campaign across both the A-League Men’s and FFA Cup was the club’s equal best in 2021-22.
Hooper will return to the United Kingdom. In March it was announced his second stint at the club would be cut short; the Englishman scored four goals this season from 14 appearances.
McGarry, a left-sided defender, departs after losing his spot in Wellington’s preferred XI to Sam Sutton. On-loan defender Bozinovski, and scholarship players Mogg and Ott, have not been offered new contracts for 2022-23.
The news of Wellington’s six departures comes after the sudden retirement of 29-year-old ‘Nix defender Louis Fenton last week.
