Vale posted the following on social media, referring to the agreement as a “short-term signing”: “The 29-year-old left back joins the Valiants to bolster Darren Moore’s defensive options until the end of the 2023/24 season following a successful trial period with the club.”
Over the past few weeks, a number of fans have posted images of players they couldn’t identify during first team training on Facebook.
Though two or three out-of-contract players had been involved, manager Darren Moore had informed media that the club had chosen against signing anyone because they wouldn’t be fit enough to play a meaningful role in the last few games of the season.
However, it seems that he has since changed his mind, as Wynne’s signing was revealed just before Vale’s crucial Wednesday night match against Peterborough United.
Some people commented on his name as a result:
Wynne International experience as a teenager with New Zealand
Wynne made his first start for New Zealand at senior level when he was just 19-years-old, in November 2014.
He got an assist in the game, setting up Chris Wood in a 1-1 draw against China, and kept his place for the next two international friendlies against Thailand and South Korea.
He then didn’t receive another call-up until 2016, but then impressed with another assist against Mexico, and was a regular starter as the Kiwis embarked on a World Cup qualification campaign.
But it was to end in heartbreak – Wynne played both legs of the final qualification play-off game against Peru but couldn’t prevent a 0-2 loss in Lima that meant New Zealand failed to reach the finals in Russia.
That defeat saw the end of Wynne’s international career – until he was recalled nearly five years later. He came on as a 71st minute substitute in a game against the Kiwis’ biggest rivals Australia in November 2022, and was involved, but not used, in the squad as recently as March 2023.
Wynne without a club since October
Wynne has had a host of clubs since moving to America from New Zealand club East Coast Bays in 2013, featuring for Colorado Rapids, Phoenix Rising and Detroit City.
His time with the Rapids saw him feature 36 times in the c in the 2018 season, starting at both centre-back and left-back, before a foot injury ruled him out of the last part of the season.
