Perth Glory is delighted to confirm that exciting young attacking midfielder Keegan Jelacic has signed a two-year contract with the club.
The 19-year-old, who has been capped by New Zealand at Under-17 level, was promoted from the Brisbane Roar NPL Academy side into the club’s ISUZU UTE A-League squad during the 2020/21 season and duly made his senior debut in a 5-2 win over Melbourne Victory.
This year, he has been a standout performer for Olympic FC in the NPL Queensland, scoring a remarkable nine goals in ten appearances.
Jelacic, who played much of his youth football with another leading Queensland club, Lions FC, is thrilled to have been handed a second opportunity to showcase his undoubted talents at A-League level.
“I’m excited to sign my first pro contract,” he said, “and honoured that Perth Glory have given me this opportunity.
“I’d love to play as much football as possible next season and contribute to the team as much as I can.
“I can’t wait to get started!”
Olympic FC Head Coach Ben Cahn, meanwhile, is confident that the teenager has what it takes to make a major contribution for Glory over the next two seasons.
“I’m delighted for Keegan,” he said.
“He’s worked exceptionally hard over the last six months to take his game to another level.
“He’s got everything needed to succeed in the A-League, he’s got a great family behind him and I’m confident he’ll have a great impact at Perth Glory.
“Keegan will certainly be missed at Olympic, but we’re very proud of the part we’ve played in his recent growth and we’re all excited to see him go on and achieve great things.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Glory’s Head of Recruitment, Andy Keogh.
“Keegan is another young player with bags of potential and we are delighted to welcome him to our great club,” he said.
“His ability to go either way and glide past players is a fantastic attribute to possess and we know there is a lot of improvement still in him.
“With the right plan and development programme in place, he will become a valuable asset to PGFC going forward.
“Olympic FC must be given a lot of credit for getting him ready to make the step up into a professional environment again under the guidance of Ben Cahn.”
Further squad announcements will be made shortly.
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