Report: Mike Grella ready to sign contract extension

As everyone knows the 2015 New York Red Bulls season had plenty of surprises. It ended up as a fantastic season that sadly went one goal short of forcing extra time in the Eastern Conference Final against Columbus Crew SC. One of those surprises came from Glen Cove Long Island native Mike Grella.

After stints with Leeds United, Carlisle United, and Scunthorpe United in England, as well as a stint in Denmark with Viborg until he came back to the USA in the 2014 season with the NASL's Carolina Railhawks, Grella thought his playing days were over, but Jesse Marsch called him in to pre-season camp and he was signed for the 2015 season. As reported by Kristian Dyer of Big Apple Soccer, Grella will soon have a long term deal in place, extending his stay with the Red Bulls.

The ten goals he scored in 2015 (nine in league play and one in the US Open Cup) were some of the best goals we have saw this past year. Of course he also now owns the record quickest goal in MLS history thanks to his effort against the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena back on October 18th. Grella took down the Union all by himself in a seven second span.

Not only did he score a goal in seven seconds, but he also converted the 1,000 goal in club history at MAPFRE Stadium on March 28th with a long chip over Steve Clark. Let's also not forget his fantastic chip goal against Benfica in the Guinness International Champions Cup at Red Bull Arena.

Getting to know Grella during last season, the man is humble and of course loves being back home in front of his family and friends. For Grella it sounds like he will be remaining with the club for a good long time. He has demonstrated that he deserves to remain with the club; his fancy footwork on the pitch shows why Marsch was high on him and his hard work helped him to become a mainstay in the Starting XI.