{"id":54218,"date":"2026-07-20T05:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/54218\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T05:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:55:12","slug":"alex-grant-signs-with-newcastle-jets-after-sydney-fc-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/54218\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Grant signs with Newcastle Jets after Sydney FC release"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having fallen out of favour at Sydney FC, experienced defender Alex Grant has well and truly fallen on his feet at the A-League\u2019s \u201ctop dogs\u201d Newcastle.<\/p>\n

Grant has signed a one-year deal with the Jets after being released from his Sky Blues contract.<\/p>\n

A mainstay under former Sydney coach Ufuk Talay, the 32-year-old centre-back didn\u2019t play at all in the final two months of the Sky Blues\u2019 2025-26 campaign after Patrick Kisnorbo took over from Talay.<\/p>\n

With Kisnorbo preferring younger central defenders Alex Popovic and Jordan Courtney-Perkins, Grant was keen for a move and was delighted when Jets coach Mark Milligan came knocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to play,\u201d Grant said ahead of his expected Jets debut in Tuesday night\u2019s Australia Cup round-of-32 clash against NPL Victoria club Preston at Genis Steel Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve come here to play and fight for my spot. You see now in the A-League a lot of young boys getting opportunities, and it\u2019s getting a bit harder for us old blokes \u2013 not that I\u2019m old yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to give everything I can for Newcastle.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while conceding Sydney was the A-League\u2019s \u201cmost decorated team\u201d, Grant was thrilled to have joined a club that won last season\u2019s Australia Cup and Premier\u2019s Plate and this season will play in the AFC Champions League Elite competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cNewcastle, you would say, are the top dogs at the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuckland took out the A-League (championship), but in my opinion, winning the Premier\u2019s Plate is more important in terms of how the season goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou play more games in (the regular season), and the finals are anyone\u2019s for the taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant\u2019s previous experience in Champions League football with Perth Glory and Korean club Pohang Steelers was a key factor in Milligan wanting to bring him to Newcastle.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a wonderful fit for us,\u201d Milligan said of Grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal for us was always to add a little bit more experience because of Asia. At times we\u2019re definitely going to have to split the squad, and he ticks all the boxes for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fantastic on the ball, he\u2019s played all across Asia as well, and he\u2019s won things. He\u2019ll help to guide this young team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Grant having only trained twice with the Jets, Milligan won\u2019t hesitate to use him on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate because he\u2019s been back in pre-season (with Sydney). He\u2019s been training, so in terms of the physical side of things, he\u2019s been able to slot straight in,\u201d the Jets coach said.<\/p>\n

Grant\u2019s former club in also in Australia Cup round-of-32 action on Tuesday night, with the Sky Blues travelling to Perth to meet NPL WA club Bayswater City at Frank Drago Reserve.<\/p>\n

In Tuesday\u2019s other Cup games, Perth Glory meets NPL Queensland outfit Lions FC at Spencer Park, and South Australian team Cumberland United hosts Victorian side Heidelberg United in an all-NPL battle.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Sydney<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having fallen out of favour at Sydney FC, experienced defender Alex Grant has well and truly fallen on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[47808,47775,47813,47825,47803,47833,47831,47777,36519,39234,47781,47814,47784,38151,37647,47791,47783,47837,47790,341,47805,26210,47806,47793,47826,297,22,4544,23,30846,47830,47816,172,47798,47812,37343,47788,47834,47778,709,47829,41984,47827,47787,47799,8019,47832,45588,47804,47815,47822,47802,3936,4708,47795,1080,36518,47774,47792,47796,596,47786,9859,7108,335,348,38588,317,47828,7611,247,1643,47835,47800,4876,39506,47797,47780,47818,47807,47821,47836,43069,47809,47801,37772,47794,47782,3336,47776,43078,47823,47820,47789,47811,38175,47819,41481,47817,29600,36985,47779,47810,47824,47785],"class_list":["post-54218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-s-top-dogs","tag-s-australia-cup","tag-s-australia-cup-round-of-32-clash","tag-s-former-club","tag-s-other-cup-games","tag-s-plate","tag-s-previous-experience","tag-2025-26-campaign","tag-a-bit","tag-a-club","tag-a-key-factor","tag-a-key-role","tag-a-little-bit-more-experience","tag-a-lot","tag-a-move","tag-a-one-year-deal","tag-a-rival-a-league-club","tag-a-veteran-defender","tag-a-wonderful-fit","tag-a-league","tag-afc-champipons-league","tag-alex-grant","tag-alex-popovic","tag-all-the-boxes","tag-an-all-npl-battle","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-auckland","tag-australia","tag-australia-cup","tag-australia-cup-round-of-32-action","tag-champions-league-football","tag-championship","tag-ex-sydney-defender","tag-experienced-defender-alex-grant","tag-favour","tag-former-sydney-coach-ufuk-talay","tag-frank-drago-reserve-in-tuesday","tag-genis-steel-stadium","tag-grant","tag-his-expected-jets-debut","tag-his-feet","tag-his-sky-blues-contract-a-mainstay","tag-jets","tag-jets-coach-mark-milligan","tag-jordan-courtney-perkins","tag-korean-club-pohang-steelers","tag-last-season","tag-milligan","tag-more-games","tag-my-opinion","tag-my-spot","tag-newcastle","tag-newcastle-jets","tag-newcastle-nsw","tag-newswire-sport","tag-night","tag-npl-queensland-outfit-lions-fc","tag-npl-victoria-club-preston","tag-npl-wa-club-bayswater-city","tag-nsw","tag-old-blokes","tag-opportunities","tag-patrick-kisnorbo","tag-perth","tag-perth-glory","tag-pre-season","tag-premier","tag-south-australian-team-cumberland-united","tag-spencer-park","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-fc","tag-sydney-fc-exit","tag-talay-with-kisnorbo","tag-team","tag-terms","tag-the-32-year-old-centre-back","tag-the-a-league","tag-the-afc-champions-league-elite-competition","tag-the-ball","tag-the-final-two-months","tag-the-finals","tag-the-goal","tag-the-jets","tag-the-jets-coach","tag-the-moment","tag-the-outer","tag-the-physical-side","tag-the-premier","tag-the-regular-season","tag-the-season","tag-the-sky-blues","tag-the-squad","tag-the-taking","tag-the-top-dogs","tag-this-season","tag-this-young-team","tag-times","tag-top-dogs","tag-transfers","tag-tuesday","tag-veteran-defender-alex-grant","tag-victorian-side-heidelberg-united","tag-young-boys","tag-younger-central-defenders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}