Melbourne City have signed Jamie Young to fill void left by Tom Glover’s departure and the veteran goalkeeper said “there’s always a desire” to play for the Isuzu UTE A-League premiers.
Melbourne City have turned to Championship-winning keeper and former Western United star Jamie Young for the 2023-24 season after Glover departed Melbourne to explore opportunities in Europe.
Called up by the Socceroos for last month’s friendly against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, Glover had established himself as one of the best keepers in the A-Leagues with three consecutive Premierships and a Championship in 2020-21.
INS AND OUTS: Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 Transfer Centre
With the 25-year-old gone, City have brought in Young – who won the title with Western in 2021-22 – as they continue to rebuild their squad.
“I think Melbourne City speaks for itself. There’s always a desire to play for a club that’s been competing at the top level and has had prolonged success,” said the 37-year-old.
“For me coming into the dressing room, it’s not about changing the culture, it’s more just
contributing to the culture that already exists.
“Being a player that has seen City over the last couple of years and having previously had success myself, I think those principles would be quite similar.
“I’ll be aiming to contribute in a positive way both on and off the pitch and am hoping to be part of more success for the club.”
The off-season is shaping up as one of significant change at City after they were humbled 6-1 by Central Coast Mariners in last month’s Grand Final.
Marco Tilio left for Scottish champions Celtic in a record transfer for the A-Leagues, while Jordan Bos (KVV Westerlo), Scott Jamieson (retirement), Valon Berisha (end of loan), Raphael Borges Rodrigues (Macarthur FC), Matthew Sutton (Western United), Kerrin Stokes, Tom Glover, Aiden O’Neill (Standard Liege), Thomas Lam, and Richard van der Venne have also departed.
Rado Vidosic’s side have since recruited Tolgay Arslan from Serie A outfit Udinese, as well as Alessandro Lopane (Western Sydney Wanderers), Patrick Beach (Central Coast Mariners), Zane Schreiber (Sydney FC) and Steven Ugarkovic (Wellington Phoenix).
“Jamie has proven to be one of the best and most consistent goalkeepers in the A-League
Men’s for several years now. He has strong leadership qualities and a great attitude to the game,” said City’s director of football Michael Petrillo.
“We look forward to having him join our playing squad and adding his experience to our defensive group.”
