Heart sign talented trio

Melbourne Heart have announced the signing of three of the Hyundai A-League’s emerging talents in Jacob Melling, Connor Chapman and James Brown.

John van-t Schip continues to shape his squad ahead of the Hyundai A-League 2014-15 season, with Melbourne Heart announcing the capture of three of the league-s most talented young players.
Newcastle Jets- Connor Chapman and Adelaide United midfielder Jacob Melling, both 19, will join Melbourne Heart alongside 24-year-old attacker James Brown, also signed from the Jets.

Chapman is considered one of the competition-s burgeoning defensive talents, Melling as one of the Hyundai A-League-s best young midfielders, and Brown a player with immense promise.

The trio expand Melbourne Heart-s squad for the upcoming season to 16 players, with further announcements pending.

Melbourne Heart coach John van-t Schip praised the signing of Chapman, whose breakout A-League campaign for the Jets was during the 2012-13 season, while the teenager featured in the Australian U-23 team which competed at the 2013 AFC U-22 Championships in Oman.

“Connor is an outstanding young defender, with a promising career ahead of him and is a gifted individual,” van-t Schip said.

“He has shown experience beyond his age with two full seasons in the A-League and he is still just 19. He will no doubt grow further under the leadership of Patrick Kisnorbo and Robbie Wielaert.”

Van-t Schip supervised the development of promising defenders Brendan Hamill and Curtis Good, with the latter recently named in the Socceroos preliminary squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Adelaide-born Melling made his Hyundai A-League debut for United in January 2012 as a 16-year-old after progressing through the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Football Program, and has featured consistently for underage Australian teams.

Melling will join Melbourne Heart outside of the salary cap as a full-time, base salary contract, one of three additional youth players that A-League clubs are afforded outside of its 23-player squad.

“We believe Jacob to be one of the best young midfielders in the system and he is an exciting and competitive midfielder,” van-t Schip said.

Brown, an attacking utility, emerged as a prodigious talent at Gold Coast United in 2011 and established himself as an energetic player who can fill a mixture of attacking roles.

“James possesses a lot of the attributes that we look for in attacking players at Melbourne Heart,” van-t Schip said.

“Two years ago, when he was at Gold Coast, we saw his potential and we feel his best football is still ahead of him.”

Brown, Chapman and Melling will be available for interview once they commence training with the club in the first week of June.

Players Signed for 2014/15 (16 players): James Brown, Connor Chapman, Mate Dugandzic, Ben Garuccio, Jonatan Germano, Jason Hoffman, Nick Kalmar, Patrick Kisnorbo, Stefan Mauk, Jacob Melling, Massimo Murdocca, Iain Ramsay, Andrew Redmayne, Tando Velaphi, Robbie Wielaert, David Williams

Jacob Melling
DOB: 4 April 1995 (age 19)
Place of birth: Adelaide, Australia
Position: Midfielder
Current contract details: Two-year contract (expires end of Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season)
Former Clubs: Adelaide United (9 apps), Para Hills (8)
International: Australian U-17 (11 apps)

Connor Chapman
DOB: 31 October 1994 (age 19)
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
Position: Defender
Current contract details: Two-year contract (expires end of Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season)
Former Clubs: Newcastle Jets (25, 0)
International: Australia U-17 (19, 2), Australia U-20 (16, 0), Australia U-23 (3,0)

James Brown
DOB: 19 February 1990 (age 24)
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Current contract details: Two-year contract (expires end of Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season)
Former Clubs: Gold Coast United (38, 9), Newcastle Jets (28, 0)
International: Australia U-17 (7, 2), Australia U-20 (11, 0), Australia U-23 (3,0)

Hyundai A-League Club Memberships On Sale Shortly.