The January transfer window is officially open, with all 13 Isuzu UTE A-League clubs receiving the chance to bolster their squads ahead of the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Several teams have already moved to strengthen since the window opened on January 16, with Perth Glory the busiest in the opening days with four signings already confirmed.
With the window set to close at 11:59pm AEDT on Wednesday, February 12, there’s ample time for each club to bring in reinforcements for the back end of the regular season. With less than four weeks to go until the deadline, aleagues.com.au identifies one key area every team could look to strengthen in the transfer market.
YOUR CLUB’S INS/OUTS: Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 mid-season Transfer Centre
TRANSFER WINDOW: Everything you need to know about the Isuzu UTE A-League January transfer window open
Adelaide United: centre-back
Adelaide United sit on top of the Isuzu UTE A-League table after Round 15, but despite boasting one of the best attacks in the competition, head coach Carl Veart could do with some defensive reinforcement heading into the second half of the regular season.
Central defence is the key area Veart could look to strengthen with a depth player to cover teenage academy product Panagiotis Kikianis and experienced Dutchman Bart Vriends; Kikianis and Vriends have struck up a solid partnership at the heart of Adelaide’s defence but options are few and far between behind the two regular starters.
Vriends missed the start of the season as he recovered from injury and in his absence, Veart utilised central midfielder IsaÃas as a makeshift centre-back. Failure to strengthen in this department before the end of the window could leave the Reds exposed should either Kikianis or Vriends succumb to injury.
Network 10 sports reporter Lucas Rinaldo was at Adelaide training on Tuesday morning, where he reported the sighting of former NAC Breda and Cavalry FC defender Daan Klomp taking part in the session at Coopers Stadium. Whilst at Cavalry in the Canadian Premier League, the 26-year-old won the competition’s Defender of the Year and Player of the Year awards in 2023.
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Auckland FC: striker
Auckland FC have impressed through the first 12 games of the club’s inaugural season and their early success comes as no surprise due to the overall strength and balance of the playing group.
Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen is a star, and there is plenty of talent in defence, midfield and on the wings – but goals have been hard to come by for the Black Knights, and a central striker to challenge Guillermo May for minutes could be the difference between an impressive first season and a title triumph.
Auckland have conceded just nine goals in 12 games but have only scored 19 goals. No other side in the top six has scored less than 21 goals at this stage in the season.
May is the cub’s current top scorer with four goals; Auckland have proven they are so hard to score against and acquiring a striker who can bag goals on a consistent basis would make it even harder for clubs to defeat them through the backend of the season.
YOUR CLUB’S INS/OUTS: Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 mid-season Transfer Centre
TRANSFER WINDOW: Everything you need to know about the Isuzu UTE A-League January transfer window open
Brisbane Roar: striker
With young striker Thomas Waddingham’s transfer to Portsmouth confirmed, it’s imperative for Brisbane Roar to find a goalscorer to replace the 19-year-old for the remainder of the season.
The Roar netted a transfer fee for Waddingham when his move to Portsmouth was sealed, and it will be important for Brisbane to use at least a portion of that money wisely in the transfer market to ensure they have a regular source of goals moving forward.
READ MORE: Brisbane Roar sensation Thomas Waddingham joins Portsmouth
Henry Hore is officially back from his loan move to K League 1 side Gangwon FC and although the young forward scored an equal-club high of seven goals last season, his return to the squad will not be enough to cover Waddingham’s absence.
“A replacement for Tommy, it has to be not a short-term fix, it’s got to be someone that we think is here for the long term,” said Roar head coach Ruben Zadkovich prior to Waddingham’s imminent.
“I think that’s really important, and also making sure you find the right player and the right person for this club and for this moment. You can’t rush that either.
“We know we need to strengthen in that area. But the other part is, until the deal is done and until Tommy is gone, we can’t count our chickens before they hatch.
“We’re working on a few different options. It’s not just one or two players. It’s probably four or five players that we really need to add. Longer term, it’s just a matter of what we can get in this window, and what resources we have and who’s available, and making sure that we try and make calculated decisions.”
Central Coast Mariners: attacker
The reigning Isuzu UTE A-League champions are languishing in 10th place after 13 games in 2024-25 and it’s clear that Mark Jackson’s side need attacking reinforcements if they are to salvage their season.
The Mariners have scored 15 goals this season – only Newcastle Jets (14) and Perth Glory (nine) have scored fewer after Round 15. Starting striker Alou Kuol has contributed just three of those 15 goals in his 13 appearances this season – and that’s the club’s highest-scoring tally after Round 15.
Kuol’s fellow striker Ryan Edmondson has endured an injury-impacted start to the season and has played just seven games to date, while young forward Bailey Brandtman has failed to score in any of his 10 appearances so far.
Mariners star Mikael Doka leads the league in chance creation (40) after 14 rounds, but the Brazilian has just five assists to his name from those 40 created chances. Head coach Jackson could elect to put his faith in both Kuol and Edmondson to feed off Doka’s supply and turn the Mariners’ fortunes around; after all, the attacking duo did both score in a shock 3-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers last time out.
But additional support with another winger or attacking midfielder could work wonders for Central Coast; Jackson has already made one attacking move, with the signature of 19-year-old former Perth Glory forward Abdul Faisal.
YOUR CLUB’S INS/OUTS: Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 mid-season Transfer Centre
Macarthur Bulls: central midfielder
Macarthur Bulls are sixth after Round 15 and have recently been bolstered by the return of attacking pair Bernardo and Chris Ikonomidis after respective injury lay-offs – but is Mile Sterjovski is in the market for a new signing, a central midfielder could help strengthen his side’s push for a top four finish.
Liam Rose and Luke Brattan have been regular starters for the Bulls in midfield but a recent injury to the former saw Rose miss games against Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United, in which Jake Hollman, a more attacking midfielder, was deployed in a deeper role to cover the defensive midfielder’s absence.
Rose then returned to the Macarthur squad for games against Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix – but on Monday night, the 27-year-old succumbed to another injury that led to his first-half substitution.
Rose was then seen on the sidelines icing his left leg; whether or not Rose’s injury is serious or a minor scare, signing another deep-lying midfielder would add cover to Rose and Brattan moving forward and ensure Hollman can continue to operate higher up the field.

Striker Ariath Piol’s slated move abroad would be a big loss to Macarthur’s attacking stocks but with Bernardo returning from injury and off-season signing Chris Ikonomidis not far away from doing the same, the Bulls should have ample cover in the final third to avoid seeking a Piol replacement in the transfer market.
Melbourne City: striker
Not much change is needed for Melbourne City at this stage in the season. With an abundance of stars currently out injured, head coach Aurelio Vidmar has blooded the kids and the club’s academy graduates have performed commendably in the absence of Subway Socceroos Mathew Leckie, Marco Tilio, James Jeggo and Andrew Nabbout as well as star imports Yonatan Cohen and Andreas Kuen.
City are three points off the top of the table, having conceded just 13 goals this season. Speaking ahead last week’s trip to face Auckland FC, Vidmar said it’s “all quiet” on the transfer front at the club – but if there was any area the current league leaders could look to strengthen before the end of the window, it would be in the striker department.
The club’s three top goalscorers from 2023-24 all departed in the off-season; Tolgay Arslan scored 13 goals last season, Léo Natel scored six and Jamie Maclaren, the A-Leagues’ all-time record goalscorer, bagged 10.
Injuries have prevented the likes of Leckie, Cohen, Nabbout and Tilio from shouldering the goalscoring burden but it hasn’t yet proved costly to City who have lost just two games all season. Vidmar is more likely to count on his injured stars coming back into the squad to boost their attacking threat in the coming weeks and months than to acquire a striker on the transfer market.
Melbourne Victory: right-back
Melbourne Victory are in need of a new right-back following the departure of Socceroos defender Jason Geria to J1 League side Albirex Niigata in early January.
Josh Rawlins, 20, is the obvious short-term solution to replace Geria in Victory’s starting XI but head coach Arthur Diles has confirmed the club are “looking everywhere” for an additional option at right-back – whether that player is found on the transfer market or within the side’s youth system remains to be seen as the interim Victory head coach weighs up his options at the start of the transfer window.
“At the moment, we’re looking everywhere, both internally and externally, and we’ll continue to do that until we find a suitable replacement,” Diles said ahead of Round 15.
“And we’re not just going to knee-jerk and just sign someone for the sake of signing them. We have to be very careful with the player that we bring in, first of all, to fill a void that’s missing, and also to make this group stronger and better and that is the key right now, to make sure that the replacement, if there is one, is the right one.”
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Newcastle Jets: centre-back
Newcastle Jets have been dealt a significant injury blow with Aleksandar Susnjar ruled out for up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury suffered in late December.
Head coach Rob Stanton has plugged the gap with midfielder Kosta Grozos, and the club captain has performed valiantly in the new role – but with both Susnjar sidelined and full-back Dane Ingham also experiencing a long lay-off through injury, a defensive signing would bring much-needed cover for the two injured Jets while allowing Grozos to move higher up the pitch where he’s best suited in his natural position.

Perth Glory: central midfield
Perth Glory came into the January window needing to add experience to a youthful squad and, more importantly, to get any new signings right after a busy off-season in which many of the club’s acquired targets have failed to hit the mark.
Cristian Caicedo and Luis Canga, two overseas imports signed ahead of the season, have already left the club – as have Mustafa Amini, Luke Bodnar, Jacob Muir and Jarrod Carluccio. The exodus, however, has left room for head coach David Zdrilic to bring fresh faces into the squad – and that process is well underway, with Tomislav Mrcela, Lachie Wales, Yuto Misao, Takuya Okamoto and Patrick Wood (on loan from Sydney FC) all joining the club.
More transfer activity is expected from Perth, with central midfield a potential target area for future signings, but in Wales – an A-Leagues champion at Western United – and veteran Japanese defenders Misao and Okamoto, Zdrilic has signed three players with experience who, on paper, fit the bill in regards to Glory’s target areas for squad improvement.
But similarly to Glory’s off-season transfer business, the on-field performance of any recruit will be far more important to the signing making sense in theory.
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Sydney FC: centre-back
Sydney FC are the league’s highest scorers after 14 rounds and boast a star-studded attack led by Joe Lolley, the competition’s best player on current form – but central defence could be the area head coach Ufuk Talay looks to strengthen in the transfer window.
Right-back Rhyan Grant is currently playing a centre-back role and the future of on-loan defender Alexandar Popovic is still up in the air, with his loan from K-League club Gwanju set to expire at the end of January.
Sydney have the option to buy the 22-year-old from his South Korean club at the conclusion of the temporary deal – but if Popovic’s stay at the club isn’t extended, it would leave Sydney with Grant, recently-capped Socceroo Hayden Matthews and 23-year-old Aaron Gurd, who has played just six games this season, as the three senior options for Talay to select at centre-back.
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Wellington Phoenix: creative midfielder
With the recent departure of David Ball after five-and-a-half years at Wellington Phoenix, a visa spot has opened up for head coach Giancarlo Italiano to look to fill with an attacking recruit.
Last week, Italiano revealed off-season signing Marco Rojas had suffered an ankle injury which will likely keep him sidelined for up to 12 weeks – a setback that has only highlighted the club’s need for a new signing.
“In an ideal world, if we had everyone available I wouldn’t have to bring in another visa (signing),” Italian said. “I’m very happy with the squad but unfortunately at the moment we’re depleted. Not only do we need to add to the starting team, we also need to add depth coming off the bench – it’s an issue for us at the moment.”
Italiano went on to confirm the club would look to add an attacking midfielder to the squad.
“Definitely a number 10, I’m not hiding away from that, I think that’s what we need. I think we need someone to bring Kosta (Barbarouses) into the game, Hideki (Ishige) as well. It’s very important we get the right link, and that would fix a lot of our progression issues at the moment.
“We don’t have someone that has those characteristics that can fill that spot – or the ones that we feel have the right characteristics. So it’s very important for us to fill that.”
Western Sydney Wanderers: centre-back
Western Sydney Wanderers have had a busy start to the transfer window, bringing Socceroos fullback Alex Gersbach and 23-year-old midfielder Jarrod Carluccio through the doors as the first two January signings.
But there is still work to be done for head coach Alen Stajcic, and with Korean centre-back Jeong Tae-wook still sidelined due to a serious ankle injury suffered in November, targeting an experienced central defender could be the Wanderers’ next focus moving forward.
Last week, Stajcic said the club is looking to bolster a “depleted” squad with a number of new signings and has needed to play central midfielders Josh Brillante and Dean Pelekanos at centre-back in recent weeks.
“We’ve had Josh playing at the back and Dean Pelekanos playing at the back for the last three or four matches – they’re traditionally midfielders, trying to plug holes,” Stajcic said after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Perth Glory.
“In that respect, we’ve added a lot of depth to the team knowing people can play different roles and have the confidence to do that when they have to – but you don’t want to rely on that, really. It will be good to get to this window, replenish and add that bit of quality we’re lacking at the moment.”
Western United: centre-back
Western United have won six of their last seven games and are one of the competition’s most in-form sides. Dangerous in attack and now renowned for late, dramatic comebacks, there’s new-found belief in Tarneit as head coach John Aloisi leads the club up into finals contention. Another defensive signing could make a big difference heading into the second half of the campaign.
Tomoki Imai is the experienced campaigner in central defence, playing alongside 17-year-old Dylan Leonard who has not looked out of place in his debut season. But beyond Imai and Leonard, central defensive options are few and far between, and with James Donachie out injured, Aloisi could look to the transfer market to bring in additional support and ensure his squad isn’t undermanned at centre-back.