Australian International Makes Motherwell Switch

Motherwell have signed Australian international Apostolos Stamatelopoulos from Newcastle Jets for an undisclosed fee.

25-year-old Stamatelopoulos is described by Transfermarkt as a ‘power house forward’ valued at around £420,000 (€500,000).

The striker, who has 17 goals in 25 games for the Jets, was under contract for next season, but his club allowed him to move to increase his chances of being selected for the Socceroos at the next World Cup.

“Apostolos heads to Europe with our best wishes. We understand that in order for Apostolos to push for selection in the Socceroos squad for the 2026 World Cup, he needs to be playing consistently in the coming months and that aligns with the European schedule,” said Newcastle Jets CEO Shane Mattiske.

“We’re really proud of his development at the Jets over the past season and would love to see him and his family return to Newcastle in the future.”

Born in North Adelaide, Stamatelopoulos played for Adelaide United, Western United, and Adelaide NPL before his first spell with Newcastle Jets. It was during his first tenure with the club that Europe first came knocking—he appeared for Rodos and PAS Giannina in Greece.

He didn’t settle in Greece, but he cited the experience as one during which he ‘developed a lot‘ before his move back to Australia.

That learning will now continue in the SPFL with Motherwell as they look to push up the table. He is thought to be joining for a fee of £260,000, money the club have after selling Thoe Blair to Auxerre for £1.4 million. They finished ninth last season, but were eight clear of the bottom two.

Stamatelopoulos is a recent cap for his country, called up to Graham Arnold’s squad for their World Cup qualifying matches against Bangladesh and Palestine. He made his debut against Palestine as a second-half sub.

Site Opinion

Stamatelopoulos grabbed 17 goals last season, with two assists, and averaged 2.8 shots per game. He’s decent in the air, contesting more than five aerial duels per game and winning 31%. He’s a target man who can get in behind, and has shown a keen eye for goal this season.

He’s got all the makings a top player, with some similarities to another Aussie who did well in Scotland – Mark Viduka. If he has the same success at Fir Park that Viduka had at Celtic, they’ll be happy with their purchase.