The Melbourne City Gazette
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Fee done, terms next for Cundo
Melbourne City and Oxford United have settled on $1.6M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Market10 Aug 2026
Melbourne City turn down Wellington Phoenix for Lawrence Wong
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Awer Mabil signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Awer Mabil and Melbourne City agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Melbourne City
Patrick Beach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Blackburn Rovers tell Melbourne City: Kristi Montgomery is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market10 Aug 2026
Eyes on Alessandro Lopane again
The phone has started ringing about Alessandro Lopane again, and this time the name on the line is Adelaide United. Melbourne City are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market10 Aug 2026
Alex Bennett steps up from the Melbourne City academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alex Bennett has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Melbourne City promote Sean James from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sean James has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Melbourne City
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
In brief
- The dugout Max Caputo gets it from the manager
- The dugout Awer Mabil asks for a word with the manager
- Squad Somebody is after Awer Mabil’s shirt