Rossi joined Wellington from Italian club Perugia as the replacement for retired defender Ben Sigmund. The 28-year old has spent his whole career playing in Serie A and B.

Merrick said he was confident Rossi would shine in the A-League after impressing in pre-season matches.

“Marco as a centre back just continues to show how classy he is,” he told FourFourTwo.

“You just can’t get past him. He’s good in the air, he’s good in the ground, no one gets past him. He’s a typical Italian defender, he’s just defends so well.

“He’s a top class, professional player, Serie A player. We’re very happy we’ve managed to snare his services for the next three years really. He’ll hit the trigger for us, he’s outstanding. A great signing.”

Rossi represented Italy at Under-17, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-20 levels and has had stints at Parma, Bari, Cesena and Perugia.

The central defender is one of a number of new Wellington signings Wellington along with Gui Finkler and Kosta Barbarouses from Victory.

“All in all I think we’ve got a more rounded team,” Merrick said.

“We’re sorting out the defensive problems we had last year and now Durante and Marco Rossi together are a great combination.”

The Phoenix finished a disappointing ninth last season, with only seven victories from 27 matches.

But Merrick feels he has the squad to improve greatly and snatch a top four spot in the 2016/2017 campaign.

“We’ve got to aim for the top four and I’ll be extremely disappointed if we don’t get very close to it or in there,” the Scotsman said. 

“I think we’ve got the team to be in the top four. We’ve recruited well, we’ve had the best preparation. We don’t have the 10-year thing hanging over us so we’re all guns blazing for the top four.”