Auckland FC have announced their first four player signings ahead of their debut season in the A-League men’s competition.
Cameron Howieson, Francis De Vries, Michael Woud and Jesse Randall are the four players who have signed on to play for the Auckland side in the 2024/25 season.
The four players are all Kiwis, with Howieson, De Vries and Woud all having experience in the All Whites and Randall having played at under-23 level for New Zealand.
Inaugural head coach Steve Corica said more players will be announced in the coming weeks but his first batch includes a range of Kiwi talent.
“All four players suit our attacking style of football, they will all be making their A-League debuts next season.”
Corica said the club wanted to build from its connection to Auckland and start by introducing players that had ties to the city.
“We wanted our first player announcements to be talented New Zealanders who have experience both locally and internationally,” said Corica.
Howieson, 29, has made 116 appearances for Auckland City in the Northern League since 2017 after finding little success at overseas clubs such as Burnley in England and St Mirren in Scotland.
De Vries is a fullback and recently played for IFK Värnamo, making close to 100 appearances for the Swedish outfit, but returned last year to play for Eastern Suburbs in Auckland.
Twenty-five-year-old goalkeeper Woud is returning to the place he grew up after nine years away overseas playing in Japan and the Netherlands.
Randall has been playing for Wellington Olympic and Corica said he has been keeping tabs on the 21-year-old as the young winger has a “huge amount of potential”.
Auckland FC CEO Nick Becker said: “All four players signed today represent what we have said we would do from day one. We are building a club that is embedded in the community and creates new opportunities for players in Auckland."
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