Murray United have announced the coup of Salford City captain Christopher Lynch for the remainder of the 2016 NPL Victoria season.
The defender joins from the club he helped promote to the English National League North – England’s seventh tier.
He comes fresh off being named the Player’s Player and Supporters’ Player of the Year for the 2015/16 season.
This will be the 31-year-old’s second stint in Australia after a spell with Western Australian club Sorrento SC in 2013.
He’ll link up with Ashley Dunn at Murray, who was his former teammate at Salford City.
Lynch attributed Murray coach Ashley Coutts as a big factor in bringing him down under.
“I’m really excited to join Murray United. It’s a new challenge in my career and one that I can’t wait to get started on. I’ve had two very successful season at Salford City, my home town club, so it was very hard to leave but the opportunity to bring my family to Australia and also to be a part of the project that Murray have here was too good to pass up,” he said via press release.
“Once I spoke to James Coutts about his vision for the club, I wanted to be a part of it. The chance to link up with Dunny (Ashley Dunn) also excited me as we played together back at Salford.
“I can’t wait to get started and hope I can repay the faith in me with my performances and help Murray get where they want to be.”
Salford City is owned by former Manchester United players Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and the Neville Brothers, with Lynch previously described by Scholes as a “centre-half [who] has done very well for us.”
The former Wigan Athletic man will take up the second visa player spot at the club after the departure of Kyungmin Choi.
His addition is a big boost to the side, who are looking to propel themselves up the table from second last in NPL2 East.
“I’m delighted to be able to bring a player a Chris’s calibre and experience to the club. It’s been a long process getting him here and we can’t wait to get him on the park. Chris is a leader and I believe will have a massive influence on the pitch as well as in the dressing room,” Coutts said.
“We spoke a lot about next season and vision we have for the club, Chris is excited to be a part of that and for me we’re bringing in someone who would walk into a lot of NPL sides.”
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