South Melbourne defender Carl Piergianni has left the club with immediate effect to join National League North side Salford City back home in England on a two-year deal.
The 25-year-old joined Hellas in December of last year and was tipped to do well at Lakeside Stadium but ultimately struggled for form and fitness during his six months in Melbourne.
He made a total of 10 league appearances – 6 of them being starts – as well as a handful of other appearances in the FFA Cup for Chris Taylor’s men who face Dandenong City on Wednesday evening.
A product of the Peterborough United academy, he subsequently made his debut at The Posh in League One during the 2010/11 season as well as enjoying loan spells at Spalding United and Altrincham.
He spent the next five years playing conference football for the likes of Stockport County, Corby Town and Boston United, earning a reputation for being one of the best defenders outside the Football League before subsequently agreeing to join South late last year following his move down under.
The news of his acquisition for the Manchester-based outfit was tweeted by City’s part-owner Gary Neville who shares a 10% stake in the club alongside former United teammates Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, brother Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. The remaining 50% being owned by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, who is also owner of La Liga side Valencia and was educated at the University of Western Australia.
The Ammies finished this term fourth in the 22 team National League North – England’s sixth tier – and have aspirations of gaining promotion into the Football League in the coming years.
The departure of Piergianni frees up a visa spot at Lakeside, with South assistant coach Chris Marshall confirming to TCF on Monday night that the club will be making a handful of additions this mid-season transfer window.