Wellington Phoenix has agreed terms with Bayern Munich on the transfer of Sarpreet Singh to the German super club.
Singh will join the world’s fourth largest football club immediately in arguably the largest transfer of a New Zealand football player.
Singh, a Wellington Phoenix Academy graduate who had a stand out season for the club in the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season has played 38 games for the Phoenix’ first team, scoring nine goals across two seasons.
He joined the club’s Academy in 2015 after coming through the club’s Auckland based feeder club, Onehunga Sports where he joined at eight years old before moving to Wellington Phoenix at 16.
Phoenix General Manager David Dome said that the transfer of Singh to Bayern Munich was testament to the significant investment the club had made into the Academy and youth programmes.
“The owners of the club have invested many thousands of dollars into the club’s Academy, and it has been a strategic priority for the club since 2011 when Welnix took over.
“We were the first of all the A-League clubs to set up a full Academy system with the move of APFA from Christchurch, and the owners have persisted with the Academy and it has produced some fine footballers over the years, even if this generated little direct financial return.
“If the pathway to professional football and potentially the very highest levels was not clear before, it is now.
“It is vital for a young players development that they can play quality football on a regular basis and in the New Zealand context only the Phoenix can provide the direct pathway from the academy level all the way to the professional game.
“We are thrilled for Sarpreet and his family and are extremely proud of what he has achieved to get to this stage of his career.
“We wish him all the best in Germany and look forward to seeing him progress all the way through to Bayern’s first team as he continues his development as a professional footballer.”
Singh has signed for Bayern’s youth side Bayern Munich II on a three year deal and will play in the third division of German football next season, with a view of him being a member of their first team should performances go well.
