Western United has added experience and quality to its squad with the signing of A-League stalwart and Socceroo Nikolai Topor-Stanley on a one year deal ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Topor-Stanley is a four-times capped Socceroo and represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
He joins the Green and Black having notched up an impressive 344 A-League appearances across 13 campaigns – the second highest in the league’s history behind recently retired Western United defender Andrew Durante.
“I’m really looking forward to a new challenge with Western United,” Topor-Stanley said. “Having played the majority of my career in Newcastle, I am eager to bring my experience and show what I have learnt throughout my career to a young club and a relatively young team.”
Topor-Stanley’s career to date most notably includes captaining the Western Sydney Wanderers to AFC Champions League victory in 2014.
Western United coach John Aloisi said he was impressed by the quality attributes that Topor-Stanley will bring to the team both on and off the pitch.
“Topor-Stanley is a strong addition to our squad,” Aloisi said.
“With his career experience and longevity comes strong leadership qualities both on and off the pitch, which is something we were looking for. His experience of winning championships and having played so many A-League games will be invaluable.”
The Canberra born centre back was voted player of the year last season with the Jets and has played every minute of every match over the last two A-league seasons.
Across 13 A-League seasons, Topor-Stanley has led his team to finals football in six seasons including three A-League Grand Finals.
