Perth Glory is delighted to announce that fellow-fliers Chris Harold, Joel Chianese and Jacob Italiano have all agreed new deals with the club.
Harold, who is currently second on Glory’s all-time Hyundai A-League appearances list, has penned a two-season contract which is set to extend his stint at the club to a remarkable eight years.
And the 25-year-old is delighted at the prospect of maintaining the close relationship that he has built up with the Glory members and fans over that period.
“I love really being associated with just the one club,” he said. “I only need to play a handful more games now to become the holder of the club’s all-time A-League appearances record and that is something that would really mean a lot to me personally.
“I appreciate the loyalty that the club and its supporters have shown to me over the years and I feel that I have returned that loyalty by sticking by the club through thick and thin. Now we have a fresh challenge ahead of us next season and it’s one I’m really looking forward to.”
Chianese, meanwhile, is on board for what will be his third season here in the West and having made a major impact in the final third of last term, he’s hoping to impress again in 2018-19.
“Obviously I missed a lot of last season due to injury having had a good pre-season,” he said, “so that was really disappointing.
“At that stage I wasn’t sure what opportunities would come up, so it was a case of just getting myself into the team and trying to put in some good performances to play for a contract. I was pretty pleased when the club said that they wanted to keep me and I guess that was a reward for making an impact in the games that I did manage to play towards the back end of last season.
“My partner is working full-time and we’ve settled in really well. We love the city and that certainly helped when it came to re-signing.”
As for Italiano, he has moved from being on a scholarship to a full contract for what will be his final season ahead of a permanent move to Borussia Monchengladbach.
And off the back of a breakthrough A-League season, the 16-year-old sees the change in contractual status as another step in his development.
“Not a lot will change for me day-to-day,” he said, “but obviously it’s great to be on a full contract now and I’m really looking forward to continuing to progress next season and hopefully helping bring the club some success.”
Glory’s Football Director Jacob Burns regards the three widemen as key components in the reshaping of the club’s A-League squad and is delighted that members and fans will have the chance to see the trio tormenting opposition defences again next term.
“Chris, Joel and Jacob are all players with the potential to get people out of their seats,” he said. “Their pace and technical ability give us that vital cutting edge in the final third and in the case of Chris and Joel, we saw towards the end of last season just how effective they can be when fully fit and firing on all cylinders.
“Obviously Jacob is hugely exciting young player who was given his opportunity to make his mark in senior football last year and certainly took full advantage of that. It’s great that we have him back on loan from Monchengladbach and I’m sure we’ll see him continue to fulfill his massive potential.”
Further significant player announcements are expected in the very near future.
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