Glory move to end Edwards loan deal
Olyroos midfielder Ryan Edwards is set to see out the season with Perth Glory despite the club seeking to end his loan deal from English Championship outfit Reading.
Glory initiated contract termination discussions with Reading this month while Edwards was on international duty at the AFC Under-22 Championships in Oman.
Edwards, 20, returned to Perth this week after the Olyroos were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.
But he was left out of an extended 18-man squad for Glory's game against Western Sydney Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium on Sunday.
Edwards' competition for the attacking midfield role, Isaka Cernak and new Serbian recruit Nebojsa Marinkovic, were both included in the squad.
Marinkovic signed a deal this week tying him to Glory until the end of next season and is a chance to make his debut off the bench on Sunday.
The club is also understood to be close to agreeing a deal with former Central Coast Mariners star and WA product Rostyn Griffiths, who has been training with Glory since last week.
Glory chief executive Jason Brewer said there was nothing sinister in the club contacting Reading and that the discussions were about planning for the future.
He said the club was acting in its own best interests, and those of the player.
"We've got new midfielders coming into the club and competition in those spots is going to be far more intense than before," Brewer said.
"All of a sudden that's a very competitive space and he (Edwards) may not get as much game time as he did before he went to Oman.
"So we've got to manage his expectations and do what's right for him, what's right for Reading and what's right for us."
Brewer said Glory would get more value out of developing young players who are on long-term deals than a player like Edwards, who is due to return to Reading in May.
"He's a young player, he participated in Oman and his performances for us in the A-League were obviously rewarded with that," Brewer said.
"We're constantly looking at ways at getting good young players in our team, but at the moment, as a loan player, he's going to go back at the end of May.
"For us, what value do we get in playing him as opposed to playing Brandon O'Neill, Danny De Silva or his brother (Cameron Edwards)?"
The move to end Edwards' loan deal is the latest development in a drawn-out saga involving the Edwards family at Glory this season.
Former coach Alistair Edwards was sacked last month just 10 games into a three-year contract amid accusations of nepotism and player unrest.
Alistair Edwards had brought two of his sons, Ryan and Cameron, to the club after being handed the full-time coaching job last year.
