Wellington Phoenix have agreed to release Hamish Watson from the remainder of his Hyundai A-League deal, while also parting ways with a young defender on Wednesday.
After a spell playing in England, Watson returned to Wellington and made 39 appearances over four seasons with the club, scoring five goals.
He’s made eight appearances in the 2017/18 Season, all off the bench, and struggling for consistent match time, Watson has decided to look for opportunities elsewhere.
“Hamish is a player who is very good to work with, he’s very professional, and he’s one of the local boys, which is important for the football club to have for connection and identity,” Phoenix boss Darije Kalezić said.
“Unfortunately he has not had enough match time over the past few seasons, and his expectations of future matches was not very high.
“We support his choice to take the step to Premiership level in order to play game time, build confidence and rediscover his love for football, and hopefully make a step forward again in the future.”
The club has also had an approach from an NZ Premiership side to sign its talented young centre back Liam Wood.
Wood has captained the Phoenix Reserves side for the past two seasons in the ISPS Handa Premiership.
