His last appearance for Ba\u010dka Topola was in early November, and he will join the Phoenix on loan.<\/p>\n
Singh was given a rapturous welcome home when he emerged from the players\u2019 tunnel in the No. 9 shirt he\u2019ll wear for the rest of the season<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sarpreet-Singh-00002.png\")
The crowd sees Sarpreet Singh coming out of the tunnel, and break into applause.<\/p>\n
Singh\u2019s decision to move back to New Zealand bolsters his chances of building his fitness and accruing game time ahead of the FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup in June-July.<\/p>\n
Auckland-born Singh joined the Phoenix youth team in 2015, after playing junior football for Auckland clubs Papatoetoe and Onehunga Sports.<\/p>\n
After making more than 70 appearances for the Phoenix reserves and first team, he joined German giants Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n
Singh scored seven goals in 22 appearances for Bayern Munich\u2019s reserves but struggled to get into their first team.<\/p>\n
After a long battle to regain fitness after a groin injury, Singh was hoping to reboot his career in Germany by joining Hansa.<\/p>\n
However, he struggled for game time and in 2024, he moved to Portugal to join Uni\u00e3o de Leiria.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy to be back,\u201d Singh said after the news of his arrival was shared with fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club means a lot to me, and I can\u2019t wait to get started and meet everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing for me is to be in an environment where I\u2019m enjoying it, having fun and being able just be free on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I play my best football and believe Wellington provides the best environment for that for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Phoenix have also made some good signings, and the club is really pushing hard to get to the finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like the group of players that have been put together now can do something special and I want to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sarpreet-Singh.png\")
All White Sarpreet Singh \u2026 glad to be back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I left as a boy and I\u2019m returning as a more mature player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout those years, I\u2019ve learned a lot. I\u2019ve had plenty of highs and a lot of lows as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had to deal with many setbacks throughout my career, and I feel like with age, time and experience I\u2019ve learnt a lot and I think I\u2019m in a very good headspace and physically I\u2019m very good as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m a good age, I feel ready and I feel like my best years are still ahead of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano jumped at the opportunity to sign Singh, having long been an admirer of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very close to signing Sarpreet at the beginning of the season, and he was going to be a player that I was going to try to build a team around,\u201d Italiano said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he reached out about a loan move on Monday morning, I spoke to [director of football] Shaun Gill, by the afternoon we had approval from the football committee and we were able to get it done on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very creative, he likes to dribble and he\u2019s a very smart player. Sarpreet\u2019s also very experienced, having played in Germany, Portugal and now Serbia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves to counterpress too, which is something we do quite well, so he\u2019s going to fit in very well stylistically.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a player like Sarpreet for the business end of the season could be a deciding factor in whether we make the finals or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was first published on February 6, 2026.<\/p>\n