Wellington Phoenix have signed Scottish midfielder Max Anderson on a two-year deal ahead of the 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
The 25-year-old becomes the Phoenix’s third visa signing ahead of the new campaign and will remain with the club until the end of the 2027/28 season.
Anderson has played in the top two tiers of Scottish football as well as England’s League One and League Two and joins having most recently played for English side Crawley Town.
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Phoenix head coach Chris Greenacre believes Anderson can bring valuable experience to his squad.
“First and foremost he brings good experience and he’s a good age,” Greenacre said.
“He’s a player that wants to improve his best attributes, and is still incredibly ambitious. That’s what we’re looking for in all of our players.
“From the word go he really related to the vision that the club have on and off the field. He bought into what we want to build here.
“He’s been a solid professional, which is what I want, he’s been at some good clubs and he can only add value to our environment.
“It’s an opportunity for him to help lead a group with his experience, help harness some of our younger players while still supporting our senior players and leading that middle part of our dressing room.”
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A former Scotland Under-21 international, Anderson came through Dundee FC’s youth system and will become the first Scottish player to play for the club.
Anderson said his conversation with Greenacre quickly convinced him that Wellington was the right move.
“It came up pretty quickly, I spoke with the manager on a call and the minute I spoke with him, he sold the club completely.
“It just suited everything I was about and what I want to be like as a player.
“I’m more a box-to-box type of midfielder, I try to bring as much drive and energy to the team with work on the ball, off the ball, I try to contribute to the odd goal.”
Furthermore, the new Nix midfielder said a conversation with former Phoenix midfielder Alex Rodriguez helped shape his decision to move to Wellington.
“I already knew a bit about the club previously, I spoke to (former Phoenix midfielder) Alex Rodriguez about three years ago, and he said nothing but good things about the club, the fanbase and everything.
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“It was a real brief chat, he probably wouldn’t even remember it, but I remember it so clearly.
“Even then it sounded amazing, so the minute the interest came I just thought that this is the right thing for me.”
The midfielder will wear the No.8 shirt for the Phoenix and said he was proud to become the first Scot to represent the club.
“That is really nice,” Anderson said when told he’d be the club’s first ever Scottish player.
“I’ve had some really random things in my career, I scored the EFL’s 600,000th goal, so this adds to the excitement.
“Honestly for me it’s about playing my utmost in every game and trying to earn my right to play in this team.
“I want to drive standards and help the team do as well as they can.”
Anderson is the 19th men’s player contracted for the upcoming season, with the Phoenix to make further squad announcements in the coming weeks.
Wellington will open their A-League campaign against Melbourne Victory at Hnry Stadium on Sunday, October 18.
