Perth Glory has continued to lock-up some key personnel for the next Hyundai A-League season with wingers Chris Harold, Joel Chianese and Jacob Italiano all agreeing 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,” Harold 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.”
Looking forward to seeing these three in the famous purple again next season…👍https://t.co/JZSg5ZRvsn
@ALeague @chrisharold14 @Joel_Chianese #CREATEDESTINY— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) April 25, 2018
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 so that was really disappointing,” Chianese said.
“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 Hyundai 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 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,” he said.
The re-signing of the attacking trio comes just days after Liam Reddy and defenders Alex Grant and Shane Lowry also committed their futures to the club beyond the 2017/18 Season.
