Wellington Phoenix say they aren't fearful of the new Auckland-based A-League Men side grabbing star talent, as the club locks down goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
Paulsen has committed his future to Wellington, signing on until 2027.
The Auckland-raised gloveman has been the Nix's best contributor this season.
The 21-year-old made a string of saves in an opening weekend 0-0 draw at Western Sydney, and denied Socceroo striker Adam Taggart's penalty last weekend in a 2-1 home win to Perth Glory.
He said it was an easy decision to sign on.
"I felt the Phoenix have invested so much in me that I can only do so much to repay the favour," he said.
Paulsen moved to Wellington as a 15-year-old to join the Phoenix academy, boarding with Ben Old and Finn Surman, who have also crashed the first-team.
Until now, as the only A-League outfit in the country, the Phoenix has been a magnet for all of New Zealand's best young talent.
The club has high hopes for its current crop, opting against big transfer moves in the off-season to place faith in youngsters like Paulsen.
That monopoly is set to end soon, with the A-Leagues confirming a new Auckland club, owned by sports tycoon Bill Foley, will enter next year.
Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano said his club was on sound footing for its arrival.
"We've locked down the players that we feel we've identified for the next couple of years in this cycle that we feel have the potential," he said.
Italiano said Paulsen's new three-year deal, or other contract extensions, were not motivated by the threat of losing local talent. Yet.
"I haven't really put a lot of thought into it because they're still not in existence. Until it becomes reality, then we worry about it," he said.
He also said Auckland recruiters should look in their own backyard for talent.
"There's also massive player pool in Auckland and if they're serious about being a club that is a representation of the area they would pick players from that region first," he said.
Italiano didn't countenance the idea of contracted players asking for a move to the rival club, but did say it was "natural and normal" for players to move between clubs and academies.
"Look at the landscape when I was at Sydney FC for example, there were four or five academies competing for the same players and those players move," he said.
"Many years from now, it might be there are some players at the Auckland academy don't get an opportunity to come to us and they flourish."
Paulsen provides an interesting case study.
If born six years later, Paulsen - who played for New Zealand at the U17 World Cup and was an unused member of the 2021 Olympic team - would surely have been picked up by Auckland.
The gloveman said waiting for a chance to play for his home-town team "didn't really cross my mind at all".
"Wellington is my second home ... the Phoenix have the best resources, the best facilities and overall the best people to help me push and strive to be the best goalkeeper and person that I can be," he said.
