Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano said the Isuzu UTE A-League club have not received “any offers” for Scott Wootton amid speculation over the former Manchester United defender’s future.
Wootton has been linked with a move to Japanese top-flight side Cerezo Osaka, where former Newcastle Jets boss Arthur Papas has been appointed head coach of the J1 League outfit.
The 33-year-old has established himself as a key player for the Phoenix since arriving in 2022 and he was an A-Leagues All Star last season amid Wellington’s historic run to the Semi-Finals.
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Asked about rumours of a potential switch to Japan ahead of Saturday’s clash with Adelaide United, Italiano told reporters: “We haven’t had any offers. For me it’s just more twitter speculation than anything.”
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When quizzed on how big of a blow it would be to lose the ex-Leeds United centre-back, Italiano added: “It would be for the end of season because he’s not contracted for next year and we haven’t spoken about next year yet.
“But he would be a huge loss like any of the other senior players.”
With the transfer window set to open on January 16, Italiano did reveal the Phoenix are looking to bolster their squad with at least one signing, potentially two amid a stuttering start to 2024-25.
After narrowly missing out on a maiden Grand Final appearance last term, the new-look ‘Nix – who lost the likes of Alex Paulsen, Ben Old and Finn Surman in the off-season – find themselves 10th in the standings and five points outside of the top six.
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“At the moment probably looking at bringing maybe one player in, if not two,” Italiano said. “We’re kind of short now because of injuries.
“We need to add a little but more depth. Not saying the young players can’t do a job, it’s just not all of them at once. Probably need to bridge that gap between the experienced players and the younger players.
“Probably somewhere in the middle in terms of age, and maybe an attacking option.”
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