THE Newcastle Jets have continued their signing spree under new coach Arthur Papas, but the future of veteran Nikolai Topor-Stanley remains shrouded in uncertainty.
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Newcastle have secured the services of Perth defender Riley Warland for the next two years, along with former Western Sydney Wanderers youth-team utility Mohamed Al-Taay for the coming season.
Warland is the second Perth player Newcastle have signed in less than a week, after New Zealand international Dane Ingham. They join ex-Socceroo Matt Jurman and former Wellington Phoenix midfielder Cameron Devlin in bolstering the revamped roster Papas is assembling after replacing Craig Deans as head coach.
In addition, Newcastle have taken up their option on midfielder Jordan O'Doherty for another season and informed Joey Champness and James Donachie, who were loaned out last season, that they are "required players" for the 2021-22 campaign.
The Jets have parted company with first-team regulars Nigel Boogaard, Roy O'Donovan, Matt Millar, Lachlan Jackson and Lewis Italiano since the end of the season, and it remains to be seen if Topor-Stanley will follow them out the exit.
Topor-Stanley turns 37 next March but has indicated he hopes to play on. Having won Newcastle's player-of-the-year award last season and not missed a single minute of any match in the past four seasons, the 344-game veteran is one of the A-League's ultimate ironmen.
Yet after signing Jurman, Donachie and Warland, Newcastle already have three central defenders under contract for next season.
The Jets said on Monday they had nothing to update with regards to how negotiations with Topor-Stanley were progressing.
Warland, 19, made his A-League debut for Glory in January and has appeared in five first-team games.
The former Australian under-15 representative spent a season in England with Fulham's under-18s before breaking into the A-League.
He is expecting to play an "energetic, high-press" style with Newcastle, "which suits me".
"The move to Newcastle will be a good opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone," Warland said.
Al-Taay, who is yet to appear in the A-League, won the youth league player-of-the-year award for Wanderers last season, and Papas said the 21-year-old will add versatility to the squad. "He is an impressive young man with a monster mentality in terms of aggressiveness and competitiveness," he said.
Al-Taay said he was ready to "prove myself" at his new club.
"Newcastle is known as a town where people work hard and I believe I can fit that culture," he said. "I've spoken to Arthur about his philosophy and it will suit the way I play. I love pressing high, playing short and sharp balls and winning challenges. I'm ready for pre-season to get started."