Paul Glatzel’s new contract committed him to Swindon Town until 2029, and also got rid of the possibility of him leaving the club on the cheap.
Last week’s announcement of Glatzel signing a three-year contract was met with positivity, as it followed the examples of Gavin Kilkenny and Aaron Drinan of Swindon getting ahead of their contract renewals for key players.
With the former German youth international set to be a key part of their plans this season, this was an important step in getting rid of any nerves about a team potentially coming in for him.
This was especially the case as Glatzel had a release clause in his old contract for just £100,000, and if he had continued to perform in the manner he had played over the summer, that would have been triggered very quickly.
So the new contract also helped Swindon to protect themselves from a departure for Glatzel, as well as rewarding him for his importance to the squad.
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Ian Holloway said: “He's done so well. It was just precautionary, and good job we took that precaution, because if we'd have tried to play him, if he'd have carried on like he normally does, Mr Titanium, he'd have probably broken down badly this weekend.
“We didn't want that. We can’t allow that, can we? It is him; he is a machine, and he believes that he can keep going and going, and he is not kind enough to himself sometimes. He’s got to learn that, but I wouldn’t change him.
“I am just relieved, as there was a clause in his contract where he could have gone for a certain amount of money, and that is out now.
“I think it was £100,000, and I didn’t even know it was in there. But that is gone now, and I am delighted to have him.”
At present, Glatzel is out with a minor hamstring issue that he picked up in the final training session before the trip to Northampton Town.
As a precaution, he has been left out of training this week so as not to aggravate the problem, and he is not going to be playing against Cheltenham Town.
The hope at the moment is for him to be back against Oldham Athletic next week, when Swindon may also get Joe Snowdon back, finally giving some relief to an attack which is lacking in numbers right now.
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