Macarthur FC have announced the signing of creative midfielder Daniel De Silva, who returns for his third consecutive season in Campbelltown after a brief period of free agency.
The 26-year-old’s Macarthur contract had expired at the end of the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
In a club statement, head coach Mile Sterjovski revealed De Silva had explored opportunities abroad but extensive talks between player and coach helped convince the attacking midfielder to return to the club that “pulled out all the stops” to secure his services for another season.
INS AND OUTS: Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 Transfer Centre
De Silva has 145 A-League Men appearances to his name – 31 of which coming at the Bulls. A contributor to Macarthur’s 2022 Australia Cup triumph, De Silva returns to help the club in its first foray into Asia, having secured a spot in the AFC Cup after sealing the Australia Cup title.
“We know he had opportunities overseas but we are happy to have convinced him to come back to the Bulls,” Sterjovski said.
“While he was free to explore other opportunities abroad, having Danny on board for next season was always a priority for us and we never gave up hope of signing him.”
“We want to keep quality players at our club who are driven to succeed. That he’s decided to come back to the Bulls speaks volumes of what we are trying to do here.”
De Silva added: “I am very excited to be back at the Bulls and looking forward to playing again in Campbelltown in front of our incredible fans.
“I am looking forward to working with Mile, the project he is building at the Bulls and the role he wants me to play. I believe the club will have great success and I am very happy to be a part of that.”
De Silva joins Clayton Lewis (Wellington Phoenix), Matthew Jurman (Newcastle Jets), Raphael Borges Rodrigues (Melbourne City), Kristian Popovic (NK Međimurje) in signing for the club in the off-season. Craig Noone, Jason Romero (APIA Leichhardt), Bachana Arabuli, Aleksandar Susnjar, Nick Suman, Al Hassan Toure, Moudi Najjar, and Daniel Arzani (Melbourne Victory) have all departed Macarthur since the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
The Bulls face Perth Glory in an Australia Cup playoff on Tuesday, July 18 in Darwin in the first competitive game of their 2023-24 season.
