Mullen, 25, was released by the Wanderers on Friday and is now poised to link up with the Jets who have shown the door to skipper Kew Jaliens, Joel Griffiths, Billy Celeski, David Carney and Adrian Madaschi in the dramatic fallout to the failed player coup aimed at overthrowing coach Phil Stubbins.
While those cancelled contracts are the subject of ongoing investigation by FFA and the PFA – with the possibility of legal action against the club to follow – the Jets are moving to bolster a now savagely depleted squad.
Marcos Flores, goalkeeper Mark Birighitti and defender Sam Gallaway – who joined Western Sydney – also left the club this month, so the impending capture of Mullen will be a welcome arrival amid the flood of departures.
Mullen is known well to Stubbins, who was assistant coach at Adelaide United when Mullen was breaking through as a younger.
Able to operate as a right back or in the centre of defence, Mullen made 58 appearances for the Reds before leaving for Chinese Super League side Dalian Aerbin in 2012.
Two years later he was back on loan at Melbourne Victory before signing for the Wanderers last year, for whom he made just nine appearances – including 90 minutes in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final win over Al Hilal.
“Daniel was an important part of our victorious Champions League campaign and was a popular figure around the club," Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas said in a statement.
“Unfortunately first team opportunities haven’t been as regular as Daniel had hoped for so we have granted a release to allow him to pursue more playing time."
Ironically, Mullen’s exit allows the Wanderers to promote fellow defender Gallaway – whom they picked up from the Jets two weeks ago – from their Champions League squad to their A-League squad for the remainder of the season.