Perth Glory is delighted to confirm that Riley Warland has signed a two-year scholarship contract with the club.
The highly-rated 17-year-old returns for a second spell in purple having signed for then-English Premier League side Fulham in June 2018.
Prior to his switch to West London, the defender had progressed through Glory’s youth ranks after joining the club at the age of ten and while he took plenty of positives from his Fulham experience, he’s delighted to be home.
“It was a dream come true for me to go over to England,” he said, “and obviously the dream is not over just yet.
“But I think maybe I was just a bit too young. Family is such a massive thing for me and moving away from home and family at such a young age is a tough thing to wrap your head around.
“I think I gave it a good go, but it was great to get the opportunity to come back to my hometown club for a couple of years and it’s going to be another fantastic experience for me.”
Warland is particularly looking forward to working under Glory Head Coach Tony Popovic.
“He’s a great coach and being a central defender myself, it’s fantastic being able to learn from one of the best,” he said.
“I like the way he wants us to play and it’s going to be a great experience for me.”
Perth Glory Football Director Jacob Burns feels that Warland represents yet another success story for the club’s two-star Academy.
“Riley is a shining example of the club’s commitment to developing young, Western Australian talent,” he said.
“He is just one of many exciting youngsters that are in and around our senior squad and we look forward to seeing them all progress.
“Riley will have benefited from his time at Fulham by growing both as a person and as a player.
“Now he has an opportunity to progress his career once again and I’m sure he’ll seize it with both hands.”
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