Wellington Phoenix have signed former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder Steven Ugarkovic for the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Ugarkovic moves to Wellington on a one-year deal as cover for captain Alex Rufer, who will miss the start of the campaign due to a knee injury.
The 27-year-old Ugarkovic departed the Wanderers on Thursday, having moved to Western Sydney in May last year.
Ugarkovic featured in all 26 of Western Sydney’s A-League Men matches in 2021-22, scoring three goals and setting up another.
“The big pull is Uffy as a coach. He’s someone I feel like I can learn under a lot from, on and off the field,” Ugarkovic said of ‘Nix head coach Ufuk Talay.
“His brand of football played an important role in my decision. Playing against Wellington, it’s always hard to break them down. They’re very structured and everyone knows what their job is.
“That’s what I like and that’s what I think I need to go to the next level.”
It’s a busy off-season for the Phoenix, who have already lost Reno Piscopo, Jaushua Sotirio, Gael Sandoval, Gary Hooper, James McGarry, Matthew Bozinovski, Kurtis Mogg and George Ott.
The Phoenix, though, have re-signed fan favourite David Ball as Talay reshapes his squad.
Talay added: “I’ve always liked Steven, even before he signed with Western Sydney.
“Firstly he’s a good person and secondly he’s a very good footballer that has an abundance of experience within the A-League.
“The two sixes play a very important role in our team and to bring in a player of Steven’s quality alongside Clayton Lewis and Nicholas Pennington is a big boost for us.
“He’s a very big signing for the club and I’m very excited to have a player of his calibre within our squad.”
