Perth Glory have bolstered their defensive stocks with the signature of former Adelaide United centre-back Lachlan Barr on a one-season contract in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The 29-year-old spent the past three seasons at the Reds, having returned to the club he represented as a junior before stints abroad at FC Internationale Berlin 1980 in Germany as well as English clubs Bradford City and Harrogate Town.
Barr scored three goals in 35 appearances for Adelaide but has now put pen to paper on a one-year deal in Perth.
“When (Glory Football Director) Stan Lazaridis asked me if I was interested in coming over to Perth, I didn’t hesitate at the offer that was made to me,” Barr said.
“Perth Glory, who have been in the league since day one, are a massive club with a great supporter base.
“Given the fact that Glory is the only A-League club in WA, it means we have the potential to get a lot of fans out to games and to fill HBF Park.
“With the appointment of David Zdrilic and Tomi Vidovic as Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach, I think we can achieve something special as a group and entertain the fans with an attractive, high-energy style of football.
“I’m looking forward to working with all the players, coaches, staff and fans to bring success back to Glory and Western Australia.”
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Barr is the first arrival at Perth since new head coach David Zdrilic’s appointment at the club. Zdrilic says his first signing possesses all the attributes he was looking for in a defender ahead of his debut campaign in charge.
“Lachie is a quality centre-back and a great character,” Zdrilic said.
“Strong in the air and happy to put his body on the line, he is also an intelligent distributor of the ball and someone that our younger defenders will benefit from training and playing alongside.”
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Glory Football Director Stan Lazaridis says Barr’s arrival in Perth continues the club’s important pursuit of defensive reinforcements ahead of the new Isuzu UTE A-League season. Glory conceded a league-high 69 goals last campaign.
“A cornerstone of our off-season recruitment strategy has been to bolster our backline and securing Lachie’s services does exactly that,” Lazaridis said.
“He’s a front-foot defender, a leader on and off the pitch and he’s hungry to make a big impact for Glory this season.”
Barr is the 10th new arrival at the club this off-season, joining Josh Risdon, Brandon O’Neill, Zach Lisolajski, Anas Hamzaoui, Nathanael Blair, Nicholas Pennington, Taras Gomulka, Adam Bugarija and Abdelelah Faisal in Perth.
