City the ‘obvious choice’ for Socceroo defender

Socceroo defender Alex Wilkinson says his decision to return to the Hyundai A-League was an easy one after joining his new Melbourne City teammates on Monday.

The defender felt the decision to sign on with City was a ‘no-brainer’ as the club mounts a push towards the Hyundai A-League Finals Series.

“City was an obvious choice for me,” Wilkinson said.

“The facilities are unbelievable and it was a club that made me feel really wanted.

Top 10 Hyundai A-League Transfer Window signings

“I spoke to the coaching staff and they were all keen to get me down here and I spoke to all the boys and they had nothing but positive things to say about the Club so it’s just great to be involved with a Club that is so ambitious and chasing its first title. It’s exciting to be a part of.

“We definitely have a squad that can challenge this year and if I can help in any way, that would be fantastic.”

Socceroos defender Alex Wilkinson celebrates Australia's 2015 Asian Cup win.

Wilkinson’s focus now turns to preparing himself for the Club’s remaining nine regular season matches and the defender’s mind is set squarely on the Melbourne Derby.

“I want to be involved straight away,” he said.

“I’m very excited to be down here and I have my short term future sorted so the sooner the better for me.

“I’ve watched a lot of the derbies on TV. I’ve never been to one live so it’d be a huge game to be involved in and a very important game for us. Obviously it’d be great to get a win and if I could be involved in it, it would be fantastic.

“I trained with all the boys who were not involved in the game (on Sunday) and the way they set it up, they mirrored the session to be similar to the exertion in a game so it was a reasonably tough.

“I came through it pretty well and now I’m looking forward to the session today, tomorrow and the rest of the week.”

Alex Wilkinson (Melbourne City)