Taggart terminated his one-year contract with Perth Glory at the end of August 2026 to pursue an overseas opportunity with Kewell, with the A-League club reluctantly allowing Taggart to leave the club prematurely for what club director of football Stan Lazaridis described at the time as "a big offer".
The 33-year-old left Perth as the club's leading goalscorer of the A-League era and was set to play a significant role in their ongoing rebuild under Adam Griffiths, who in May signed a two-year deal with the club after a successful stint as interim boss.
“A few things had popped up over the last four or five weeks and originally I didn’t have any intention to leave but then I think as those few weeks passed and there’s more conversations had with the club, it seemed as though if something came up then I was able to go," Taggart said when discussing his move to Vietnam.
“This one came up and it felt like it was in the best interest of of everyone. There’s no bad blood, no bad feelings. A bit of a surprise but I think with the opportunity on the other side of things to play for a club like Hanoi FC, have Harry Kewell as a manager and go for one last challenge at the end of my career.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Perth, although through difficult times. I obviously love the place, but it just felt like a nice challenge for me to take this move and have a crack in Vietnam.”
According to the West Australian, Ha Noi are soon set to announce Taggart's departure imminently after signing two additional foreign players, which would see Taggart squeezed out with the Vietnamese club permitted to register only four of the six overseas players now on their books.
He had made just three appearances for Ha Noi - one as a starter and two off the bench - for a total of 128 minutes of play.
Whilst Taggart's sacking would leave him as a free agent, A-League squad registration rules only permit free agency signings for players whose previous contract expired before the transfer window closed on September 15.
He would still be allowed to join an A-League club as an injury replacement player, or wait until the opening of the next transfer window on January 12 to join a club permanently, permitting squad list and salary cap constraints.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
