New signing Zach Clough revealed his move to Adelaide United transpired swiftly after agreeing to join the Club for the remainder of the Isuzu UTE A-League 2021/22 season.
The English attacking midfielder explained how plying his trade in Australia was something he had contemplated in the past and believed now was the appropriate time to follow through with the decision.
“It happened very, very quickly to be fair,” Clough told the media at his official unveiling at Coopers Stadium.
“My agent got in touch with the Club, I was obviously contracted to Carlisle.
“And I was probably ready for a change and I’ve got a lot of friends out here who’ve played in the A-League.
“They’ve always said to me that I should come and give it a go and I felt like it was the right time, once the interest came to come and make the jump.”
Clough burst onto the scene with boyhood club Bolton Wanderers and after four years in the professional set up transferred to Nottingham Forrest for a fee reportedly in the region of £3 million.
However, after a promising start he would find himself on the outer following managerial and ownership changes.
He was subsequently loaned back to Bolton and later Rochdale, before permanent moves to Wigan Athletic and most recently Carlisle United.
“I feel like when I was a lot younger, I was flying of course – got a big move to (Nottingham) Forrest, started off really well there,” Clough said, when asked to discuss how his last couple of years have not gone the way he would have liked.
“But it was kind of like a lot of changes in managers, coming and going and the ownership changed and I feel like they probably didn’t want me at the club and I still had three years left on my contract.
“So it’s one of those things in football where a lot of players come and go and if you’re not wanted, you’re just not wanted from the get go really.
“It was nothing to do with football it was probably more finances.”
Still only 26, Clough is looking to be the creative midfielder Adelaide desperately needs to link the centre of the park to the attack as he spoke about his best attributes.
“I’m hoping I can bring that side to the team (creativity),” he said.
“I like to dribble with the ball, shoot, take set-pieces, and hopefully score goals and get some assists.”
Clough also admitted he immediately noticed the incredible culture within the squad, stating that in just two days of training he was amazed by the genuine togetherness.
“Straight away I could see the camaraderie in the group was very high,” the Reds’ new number 20 said.
“They all get on really well, and there’s a very good spirit around the place.
“Probably the best I’ve seen in my first two days at any team I’ve ever been at, the lads just look like they get on really well and I think that will help us on the pitch definitely.”
The Englishman said he is doing everything he can to be available for selection as soon as possible, while adjusting to the significantly warmer conditions in contrast to the north of England, which will naturally take a little bit of time.
Clough joked that he left Carlisle with the temperature around one degrees Celsius into a stifling Australian summer with the mercury well above 30 degrees Celsius when his plane landed in the city of churches.
“I think that’s going to come down to the manager,” he continued.
“Obviously I’ve been in today, working and doing a bit extra on a day off.
“And I’m just trying to acclimatise to the hot conditions and my body feels ready to go whenever I’m called upon.”
