Adelaide United has confirmed versatile defender Tarek Elrich has signed a one-year contract extension to his existing deal, keeping him at the club until the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
Elrich, whose contract was set to expire following the 2016-17 campaign, will now remain in South Australia for the next three years.
The former Newcastle Jets man joined United from the Western Sydney Wanderers before the 2013-14 A-League season and has since established himself as arguably the most consistent full-back in the country and was rewarded with his first Socceroos cap in March 2015.
The 28-year-old had only re-signed with the Reds in November 2014, after penning a new two-year contract, but he admitted the decision to continue playing for Adelaide was simple.
“It feels really good to extend my contract for another year,” Elrich said.
“We’ve been talking about extending my contract for a while now and we wanted to sort it out before Michael (Petrillo) left and he’s been a big help in the process.
“I’ve really been enjoying my time here in Adelaide and I’ve now been part of the Socceroos squad as well and to have the security of my club football with United leading into a World Cup is massive.
“Now I’ll continue to focus on my football and playing my absolute best week-in, week-out, giving myself the best chance of being in contention of that Socceroos squad and helping the team domestically.”
Elrich also explained there were a number of other reasons as to why he agreed to put pen-to-paper for another year and claimed he is desperate to be a mainstay in the national team setup.
“There are a few reasons why I’ve decided to extend and, like I said, I’m loving living in Adelaide and it’s a great city to be based while playing football,” he continued.
“Also, now that I’m fighting for a place in the national team, I want to stay there. Ange [Postecoglou] has a lot of confidence in selecting players that are playing well in the A-League and I want to continue with that.
“Football is a part of life that you can never predict, but to have my club football secured at a great club that plays great football for the next three seasons is massive and I want to be successful here.”
Elrich has accumulated over 50 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, scoring once and laying on four assists in the process.
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