Stanton may not be last arrival
FROM the sun of Dubai City to the grey and steady early-January rain of a little island in the English Channel.
Some would say Callum Stanton has to be mad to swap those scenes.
But, as the goalkeeper hinted when he first departed our shores, ‘I absolutely love Guernsey, so you won’t have seen the last of me’.
That was 2020 and he added: 'Hopefully I haven’t put on a Guernsey shirt for the last time, and I hope that one day in the future I can return to reach 100 appearances and beyond.’
Stanton should be on-island within 36 hours, train with his old team mates on Thursday, and then fly back to the UK with the team on Saturday for the scheduled game at bottom-of-the-table Chalfont St Peter, a massive six-pointer for both clubs.
‘I can’t wait to join up with the squad and help the team climb the table,’ Stanton told GFC.
‘I love the club and I believe in the vision Tony has, and I am excited for what we can achieve in the next few seasons.’
Tony Vance believes GFC are re-securing the best No. 1 in the division, and is not finished in trying to attract new, outside talent.
‘Having him here full-time and involved with the training will be a massive plus. He will be a real asset,’ said the boss, who wants to create a business model that will make the most of the best Guernsey talent while attracting the odd special UK player with the carrot of a new life and good-level football.
It was only last August that Stanton, who turned 23 on Sunday, signed a three-year contract with the United Arab Emirates Second Division League club Dubai City FC.
But, as GFC media director Nic Legg explained, it was not the level of football he had hoped for.
‘Tony's and my perseverance is one reason he is coming,’ said Legg.
‘He was not really enjoying his football over there. He was originally going to come for next season but we managed to get him now.’
Stanton, who has been on holiday in the USA, was taking a flight back to Dubai yesterday before flying home to the UK and on to Guernsey, hopefully arriving on the last flight tomorrow.
‘Hopefully he will have a negative PCR test and he will be able to train on Thursday night.’
