Melbourne Victory is pleased to announce it has signed former English Premier League defender Ryan Shotton for the 2020/21 A-League season.
Shotton arrives at Victory with more than 300 games of experience in the Premier League and Championship.
The 32-year-old began his career at Stoke City and played for several clubs including Derby County, Birmingham City and most recently Middlesbrough.
His time at Boro saw him play alongside fellow Victory recruit, Rudy Gestede
Shotton said he was looking forward to joining Victory this season.
“I’m very pleased to have signed with Melbourne Victory. It’s a club which has been very successful, has a huge fan base and I can’t wait to get there,” Shotton said.
“After speaking with Grant Brebner, he outlined a very clear vision about the football he wants the team and myself to play, so that made the decision to come to Victory very easy.
“I’ve obviously played with Rudy Gestede as well, so I’m looking forward to linking up with him and all my new teammates. As a team we want to play exciting football, win games for the members & fans and help get the club back up the table.”
A-League Head Coach Grant Brebner said Shotton’s signing completes his squad for the upcoming A-League season.
“On behalf of everyone at Melbourne Victory I’d like to welcome Ryan to the club,” Brebner said.
“Ryan has performed and competed in the toughest league in the world, the English Premier League.
“He brings a wealth of experience to our group, is a fierce competitor and will also help mentor our emerging players, in particular defenders Aaron Anderson and Dylan Ryan.
“While Ryan has made a career playing in defence, given his height and strength in the air he can push forward for set pieces and is a real threat around goal.
“The signing of Ryan completes our squad for the upcoming season and we’re really pleased with the team we’ve assembled. We believe we’ve done some very good business under incredibly difficult circumstances.
“Our focus now is to train hard while we are in quarantine here in Sydney. The next couple of weeks are vitally important to our preparations for the A-League season ahead.”
Melbourne Victory 2020/21 A-League squad:
Matthew ACTON, Aaron ANDERSON, Nick ANSELL, Jay BARNETT, Jacob BUTTERFIELD, Jacob BRIMMER, Leigh BROXHAM, Max CROCOMBE, Ben FOLAMI, Rudy GESTEDE, Gianluca IANNUCI, Elvis KAMSOBA, Birkan KIRDAR, Robbie KRUSE, Brandon LAUTON, Luis LAWRIE-LATTANZIO, Callum McMANAMAN, Marco ROJAS, Storm ROUX, Dylan RYAN, Ryan SHOTTON, Adama TRAORE
