Perth Glory is pleased to announce the signing of Brendon Santalab.
The highly experienced striker has joined the club on a one-year deal and will link up with Tony Popovic yet again after working together at Western Sydney Wanderers.
The diminutive forward heads to Perth following a five-year spell with the Wanderers where he scored 34 times in 94 appearances.
Santalab began his career in the old NSL with Paramatta Power in 2000 and went on to enjoy time with Sydney United before being signed by Singaporean heavyweights Geylang United in 2003.
Following a prolific season for Geylang, where he netted 23 goals in 22 games, Santalab returned to Sydney United before spending three years in Europe with Oostende and Sint-Truiden in the Belgian top flight, while also going out on loan with Hungarian outfit Újpest FC.
Santalab would return home to Australia with Sydney FC where he made 23 appearances between 2007-09 before jetting off to China. The Australian striker went on to represent Chengdu Blades and Chongqing Lifan in the Chinese Super League and score 33 goals in the top division.
Tony Popovic then signed the Wollongong-born player to Western Sydney in 2013 where he would go on to forge a reputation as one of the Hyundai A-League’s most clutch goalscorers, while also playing a vital role in the side’s Asian Champions League title in 2014, including a memorable late equaliser against Sanfrecce Hiroshima to send them into the Quarter-Finals. Santalab also received the club’s Player of the Year award for his outstanding 2016-17 campaign and is the current all-time top-scorer for the Wanderers.
“I’m very excited to join Perth Glory Football club,” Santalab said. “The opportunity to work under Tony Popovic again was an opportunity too good to miss.”
“I’m looking forward to joining a team with so many fantastic players and meeting the clubs fans.”
Football Director Jacob Burns believes Santalab is another great addition to the squad and will bring a lot of quality to the side.
“Brendon is a player that brings invaluable experience, a winning mentality and a hunger for success,” Burns explained. “He is a fantastic professional that will assist many of the young talented players we have at the club.”
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