Tara Murray
One of the National Premier League’s best goalkeepers will ply his trade with the Melbourne Knights next year.
The Knights have announced that three-time NPL Victoria goalkeeper of the year Chris Oldfield had joined the club.
The 31-year-old Liverpool-born goalkeeper arrives at Somers Street after spending the past last seasons at Altona Magic.
Widely regarded as one of the NPL’s best between the sticks the last 10 years, Oldfield has spent time at Hume City and Avondale as well as the Magic.
Oldfield, who was crowned as NPL Victoria goalkeeper of the year in 2014, 2016 and 2018 also arrives with A-League experience having spent time at Sydney FC in 2016, when they won the championship.
The former Liverpool Academy goalkeeper said he is proud to be plying his trade for Knights in 2023.
“Melbourne Knights is a big team, since I’ve been here,” he said. “They’ve always been one of the biggest teams in our league and back in the NSL days too, they’ve got a rich history and I’m looking forward to seeing what the upcoming season brings.
“We’re building a good team and aiming to get the culture of the team right and the next thing is to take that onto the pitch.
“I believe the coach we’ve got in Ben [Cahn] will be big for us and am confident we can gel really fast and keep moving forward.
“They’ve got a rich history here, when I got the call it was a big step for me to go, yeah you know what I’d be proud to play for that club, so that’s exactly what I’ve gone and done.”
The Knights have also announced the signing of former Perth Glory Striker Ciaran Bramwell.
Bramwell played 27 A-League games having spent five years at Glory, making his senior debut in 2021.
The forward also top scored for Glory’s youth side in the 2022 NPL WA season, finding the back of the net eight times in 14 games.
“I’m really happy to be here, I’m looking forward to playing at a historic club like Melbourne Knights, I think it’s a big opportunity for me,” Bramwell said.
“I needed a change of scenery from Perth, I had a great time at Glory but I think I just needed to try something new for myself and I think Knights is the perfect place to go and test myself.
“I want to play regular football and help this club win silverware, in the past few years I probably haven’t won as much as I wanted to and I think coming here, we’ve got a side perfectly capable of being there at the end of the year.”
