Wellington Phoenix forward Ben Waine - known as the 'Waine Train' - is on track for a successful career in England after signing for high-flying League One side Plymouth Argyle.
New Zealander Waine, 21, scored 17 goals in 73 A-League appearances for Wellington having made his debut for the club as a 17-year-old in March 2019.
He has departed for a side sitting top of the ladder in England's third tier, ahead of Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday. Plymouth next face MK Dons at home on New Year's Day (2am Monday AEDT).
"This is an absolute dream move," Waine said in a video message from England on the club's official website.
"Ever since I (became) a professional footballer I've had this desire and kind of addiction of wanting to move over to the UK and play over here, and Plymouth Argyle have given me the opportunity ... I'm extremely grateful for that.
"To everyone in the academy (at Wellington) - players and staff that gave me the chance to develop and push me towards the first team - I want to say thank you.
"Then in the first team, you guys gave me a platform to be able to make this move a possibility."
Having become Wellington's youngest-ever scorer - at 18 years and 145 days - when he netted his first goal for the club in 2019-20, Waine shot to attention the following season when he scored seven times in 18 games.
He represented New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics and made his debut for the All Whites in a World Cup qualifier against Papua New Guinea in March this year.
"Waineo has done a fantastic job in the games that he's played for Wellington Phoenix and we're proud that we've played a part in his development," Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said.
"Now he's hopefully going off to bigger and better things."
Waine follows in the footsteps of Wellington youngsters Sarpreet Singh (Bayern Munich) and Liberato Cacace (Sint Truiden, Empoli) in moving to European soccer after being developed in New Zealand's capital.
"He's come through the academy into the first team and has played consistently and scored goals," Talay said.
"Now an opportunity has come and the club has opened the door for him to go and hopefully he can continue that.
"It's exciting that we produce players and the club ends up getting rewarded for selling these players overseas."
