Melbourne City have confirmed Socceroos defender Alex Wilkinson will be joining the title-chasing club in a deal that will take him through to the end of the current A-League season.
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The centre-back will consider his options then. Like many players he is looking to the booming Chinese Soccer League as a potential destination when his City deal concludes.
Wilkinson has been in talks with the Latrobe-based team for some time, but only opted to return to the A-League right at the end of the local league's transfer window on Thursday night. He had been waiting to see if there was interest from the CSL before committing to City.
Wilkinson will join his new teammates next week and will not be available for City's visit to the Newcastle Jets on Sunday afternoon.
The 31-year-old was a member of Australia's 2015 Asian Cup-winning squad and has played 16 times for the Socceroos, all under coach Ange Postecoglou.
He started in all three of Australia's World Cup matches in Brazil.
Wilkinson was a foundation player for the Central Coast Mariners, making 172 appearances for the Gosford-based club and captaining the team for five seasons.
After leading the Mariners to the A-League Championship in 2013, he moved to South Korean team Jeonbuk Motors, winning two consecutive K-League titles in 2014 and 2015 in a three-year stint in Korea.
City coach John van 't Schip said: "Alex brings with him a lot of experience, having played for the Socceroos and in club football in Asia, and his qualities will help strengthen our defence. He is an important addition to the squad."
There has been a flurry of movement at the City Football Academy in the first few weeks of 2016. Goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, defender Osama Malik and midfielders Nick Fitzgerald and Anthony Caceres have already joined, with Tando Velaphi, Robi Koren, David Williams, Erik Paartalu and Stefan Mauk having left.
