Out-of-favour Soca Warriors defender Osei Telesford was one of four players signed by Digicel T&T Pro League debutants Central FC?yesterday as they seek to bolster their club for the rest of 2012/2013 season.
Telesford joins the club after a long stint with US Soccer League club Puerto Rico Islanders.
The others signed by the club following the opening of the mid-season transfer window on Monday include DirecTV W Connection midfielder Rennie Britto who has made the short move from Savonetta to California, Couva, and National Super League's Stokely Vale duo Omar Charles and Rondell Winchester, who no doubt caught the eye of many during the club's recent run to the semifinals of the Toyota Classic and T&T Football Federation FA quarterfinals.
Commenting on the signings, Kevin Jeffrey, assistant coach of Central FC "Sharks," said, "We always planned to strengthen the squad in December." We started from scratch so we knew we would need to make improvements mid-season. One of the areas of concern was our lack of firepower, and bringing in Rondell means we have an exciting young striker who has been scoring regularly in the Super League." Winchester has bagged eight league goals this season and proved that he can also infiltrate Pro League defences when he scored against Defence Force in Wednesdays FA Trophy 2-1 win by Stokely Vale.
"It was nice to leave with a goal," said Winchester. "I'm going to miss everyone at Stokely Vale, but I'm grateful to the club for supporting me and allowing me to move to Central FC."
Winchester said that there were other clubs interested in him but he was impressed by Central FC's approach. "Sancho came over to talk with me and my family and spent a couple of hours answering our questions. My parents and I are convinced that the club has my best interests at heart, and we felt this was the right move for me."
The Sharks Managing Director, Brent Sancho, said " We feel we have made four great signings in key areas. Talented youngsters like Rondell and Omar are key to the club's development and we've been watching them for a while. Obviously, we've seen Rennie a lot in the Pro League and we feel he can bring some creativity to our midfield. Of course, I've known Osei for quite some time now, and when his season ended with Peurto Rico, I contacted him straight away. I have to give kudos to the Stokely Vale management who never stood in the guys' way and, in fact, were very supportive of their move, despite the fact that they're still in the FA Trophy. This kind of willingness to put their players' future in front of their club's ambitions is very refreshing and they should be applauded for setting such a positive example."
Sancho said that Central FC are determined to see more of their players join goalkeeper Marvin Phillip in the national team. "With the Gold Cup approaching, this is the perfect time for players to push for a place in the squad, and with the current national coaches actively watching Pro League games, we're telling our lads that this is a great opportunity." In the Sharks squad are several players who have already represented the national team.