Perth Glory have secured the services of two Australian youth internationals, signing local products Tijan McKenna and Ischia Brooking ahead of the 2024-25 Liberty A-League season.
Both McKenna and Brooking have spent time at the club in prior seasons; 15-year-old Brooking returns to Perth after a season at Western Sydney Wanderers, where the midfielder became the youngest player in Liberty A-League history at 14 years and 347 days.
A key figure in the CommBank Junior Matildas squad, Brooking helped the Australian youth side qualify for this year’s AFC Under-17 Asian Cup and is a promising young recruit for new Glory head coach Stephen Peters to add to his ranks ahead of the 2024-25 domestic season.
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McKenna, meanwhile, returns for a second stint at Glory after making 15 league appearances for her local club between 2020 and 2023.
The 19-year-old joined Melbourne City from Glory ahead of the 2023-24 season and featured 13 times for the eventual Premiership winners.
McKenna is a regular CommBank Young Matildas squad member who, together with Brooking, will add to the strong contingent of local talent in the Glory squad after the re-signing of homegrown defensive quartet Izzy Foletta, Grace Johnston, Bella Wallhead and Mischa Anderson this week.
“Tijan and Ischia have both returned to Glory after heading over east and they will be all the better for having that experience under their belts,” said head coach Peters.
“The fact that they are such fixtures in their respective age-group squads at national level speaks volumes about their abilities.
“It’s fantastic to add another two high-quality WA players to our squad and I am confident that they will continue their development with us in the upcoming season.”
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