Wilkshire to return to the region where he began his career (Photo — AAP)

NPL 1 club Wollongong Wolves are set to announce the signing of Sydney FC defender Luke Wilkshire. I have been informed the Albion Park junior who played his last match for the A-League giants on Saturday in their 3–2 defeat against Melbourne Victory will be unveiled as the Wolves new marquee man possibly as soon as Thursday.

The Wolves are currently eighth in the NPL 1 and they host Manly United on Sunday. The transfer window does not open until mid-May so he will not be a part of the matchday squad.

I reached out to Wolves CEO Chris Papakosmas and he remained coy about the potential signing, “I won’t be confirming or denying anything but obviously we are always on the lookout to add to our stocks.” He also added, “Whenever we sign someone we wait until everything is done and then we announce it.”

Wilkshire, who will be 37-years-old in October would become the fourth member of the Wolves’ playing roster to have A-League pedigree after Nick Montgomery, Justin Pasfield and Josh Macdonald.

Wilkshire played at youth level for the Wolves before joining the AIS in 1997. He went on to have a distinguished career in Europe where he played over 400 games for the likes of Middlesbrough, Feyenoord and Dynamo Moscow. In 2017, Wilkshire returned to Australia, signing a one-year contract with Sydney FC. During his spell with Sydney, he played a key role in guiding the club to FFA Cup glory as well as a League Championship.

Wilkshire had a decade-long international career where he was capped on 80 occasions for the Socceroos. He was also a member of the squads for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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The deal was officially announced on Friday, 11 May 2018.