Captain Steven Taylor will see out his professional football career at Wellington Phoenix after signing a new two-year contract.

Taylor and vice-captain Alex Rufer have both committed their long-term futures to the Phoenix, the A-League club confirmed in a "special announcement" on Wednesday.

Taylor's new deal will take him through until the end of the 2021-22 season, while Rufer has signed a massive three-year extension through until the end of 2022-23.

"Obviously these are two very important, core players of the group and maintaining our players creates consistency and builds the club for the future, which is vital," coach Ufuk Talay said.

READ MORE

* Moments away from Man City debut

* From Chelsea signing to Phoenix star

* Durante: Why I left Wellington after 11 years

"It's great that our players want to be here and help build towards something special; they have a lot of belief in what we're trying to achieve, not just short-term but long-term as well."

A former Premier League player with Newcastle United, 33-year-old Taylor is currently into his second season with the Phoenix.

He took over the arm-band when long-serving captain Andrew Durante followed former coach Mark Rudan to Western United and has played every minute of the season so far.

"Taylor is a natural leader and a very influential player for us, he leads by example both on and off the field, he brings an abundance of experience to the club and obviously he's an important player for us moving forward with the direction this club is heading."

Rufer, 23, made his Phoenix debut as a teenager in 2014 but is now a senior figure at the club after enjoying a breakout 2018-19 campaign.

The All Whites midfielder has been sidelined with a knee injury for the past three weeks but is expected to be back for Saturday's clash with Central Coast Mariners at Sky Stadium.

"Rufer is a young talented player who has captaincy qualities as well; he had a great season last year and this season he's been very good and influential for us, and he's still a young player so it's great to have him committed to a three-year deal with us."

The Phoenix now have 11 players signed on for next season, with further re-signings expected to be announced later this week.

They are also locked in negotiations with one new player, Talay telling Stuff on Monday that he plans to strengthen his squad in January.

"The timing of this is very important for us; we need to build consistency and to know what direction we're heading in, not just this season but long-term," he said.

"It's vital to have our core players signed long-term if we want to want the team to continue to win matches and be competitive."

Wellington Phoenix contracts

Expiring after 2019-20: Luke DeVere, Callan Elliot, Gary Hooper, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Liam McGing, Callum McCowatt, Tim Payne, Walter Scott, Jaushua Sotirio, Matti Steinmann

Expiring after 2020-21: David Ball, Liberato Cacace, Ulises Davila, Cameron Devlin, Louis Fenton, Stefan Marinovic, Oli Sail, Ben Waine

Expiring after 2021-22: Reno Piscopo, Steven Taylor

Expiring after 2022-23: Alex Rufer