Melbourne Victory have signed talented young quintet Emre Saglam, Jack Mihailidis, Daniel Lazarevski, Oliver Dragicevic and Xavier Stella to their Isuzu UTE A-League squad for the 2025-26 season.
Saglam returns to Victory on a 12-month loan deal from recently promoted Turkish Super Lig side Genclerbirligi.
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Part of Victory’s academy before signing a three-year professional contract with Genclerbirligi, the 20-year-old makes his way back to Melbourne for first-team experience.
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Mihailidis and Lazarevski – the son of Victorian football legend Nick, moved up to Arthur Diles’ A-Leagues squad, having impressed at NPLM VIC level in 2025. The pair are already training with the 2024-25 runners-up.
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A technically gifted midfielder, Mihailidis scored three goals in NPLM VIC this season and wore the captain’s armband on multiple occasions, while he featured against EFL Championship outfit Wrexham in July’s pre-season friendly. As for Lazarevski, the 19-year-old striker found the back of the net five times in 2025 and he has previously attending a training camp with North Macedonia’s Under-20 national team.
Dragicevic, 17, and Young Socceroos midfielder Stella, meanwhile, join Victory from NPLM VIC outfit St Albans Saints and Melbourne City respectively. Stella recently made his senior debut for City in the Australia Cup.
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“We are really pleased to bring Emre back to the Club on loan, and elevate Jack and Daniel to our A-League training squad,” said Victory head coach Diles.
“They have all progressed through the ranks at Melbourne Victory and represent the talent in the club’s Academy.
“Equally, to have Oliver and Xavier join the club, two players who we believe have exciting futures in football is an important step in continuing our talent development.
“They will have the opportunity to work with the senior squad and I look forward to seeing them bring their best football each week.”
