Southern United continue to build strong team with signing of Chris Wingate

He said: “I’m looking forward to assisting the team get as many positive results as possible and finishing as high on the table as we can.”

The Norwegian-born footballer heard about Southern United and Dunedin from his friend Markus Fjortoft, who played for United last season. “Markus had so many good things to say about the club, the region, the people and the potential for the club to make further progress,” Wingate said.

Becoming the first player in history to get drafted to the MLS from the University of New Hampshire, where he graduated with an MBA in Finance and Business Analytics, Wingate has had an impressive career so far.

While playing football Wingate has continued to make steps up the career ladder working for a range of high-end companies around the world and is excited to continue that career in Dunedin with whichever company he lands his feet with.

Having played football in a variety of countries across his career means Wingate has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in football from around the globe, something that really appeals to Head Coach Paul O’Reilly.

“Chris will bring great quality to our squad. He arrives to Dunedin with great pedigree having graduated in the USA collegiate system with Uni New Hampshire and followed that up with spells at New York City and Bethlehem Steel prior to returning to Norway to play at Baerum SK,” O’Reilly explained.

“Chris is a technically gifted midfielder with superb awareness and vision. He possesses a great passing range and has an eye for a killer pass. He’ll bring his ability to create and unlock opposition’s defences. We expect to see him develop a clinical relationship with Joel Stevens and Garbhan Coughlan,” the head coach added.

O’Reilly will be looking to make more signings in the coming weeks as the team head into pre-season training ahead of the 2019/20 ISPS Handa Premiership.