Atalanta's Ivorian forward Amad Diallo (L) shoots on goal while challenged by Midtjylland's Canadian defender Manjrekar James. Photo: MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
The Wellington Phoenix have signed Canadian defender Manjrekar James for the upcoming A-League season.
The centre back is the team's fifth and final visa player for the upcoming season.
James, who stands 1.93m tall, has been a professional for 13 years in Europe, North America and Central America and has won titles in Denmark, Canada and Costa Rica, most recently with LD Alajuelense.
The 32-year-old has also played 17 times for Canada at senior level since making his full international debut as a 21-year-old in 2015.
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano said James was a physically dominant centre back.
"Manjrekar fits the profile of the defender that I've been wanting to recruit," Italiano said.
"He's aggressive, he's strong, he's very good with the ball, he has good experience across a number of leagues around the world and he's an international.
"Manjrekar's got all the attributes I want from a centre back. He's very good man-to-man, very mobile, quick and makes very good decisions in very hard situations.
"He's also very good in the air and always on the front foot so I think stylistically and in terms of aggression he'll give us an edge.
James, who will join the squad once he obtains his New Zealand work visa, can't wait to play for the Phoenix.
"One of my old teammates at Midtjylland, Bozhidar Kraev, used to play for Wellington so I've heard a lot of good things about the Phoenix and the A-League."
James was born on the small Caribbean island of Dominica in a cricket-mad family and was named after former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar.
His family moved to Canada when he was eight and he started playing football in North York, Ontario a year later.
He will wear the No 4 shirt for the Wellington Phoenix with the club now having 22 men's players contracted for the 2025-26 A-League season.
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