Melbourne Heart FC has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to promoting young talent by completing a triple swoop for rising teenage stars Kliment Taseski, Eli Babalj and Brendan Hamill.
Melbourne Heart FC has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to promoting young talent by completing a triple swoop for rising teenage stars Kliment Taseski, Eli Babalj and Brendan Hamill.
The trio have each signed multi-year deals to join the club, bringing the current total of contracted players to 13, following the recent signings of Wayne Srhoj and Simon Colosimo, and also join fellow AIS graduate and Qantas Young Socceroo hopeful Kamal Ibrahim.
Head Coach John van ‘t Schip said the recruitment of Babalj, Taseski and Hamill marks an important step for the club in laying the foundations of future on-field success.
“Developing talent for the future is an important responsibility of any football club. I really enjoy working with young players and I believe the signing of these youngsters is proof of our commitment to invest in Australia-s youth,” he said.
“They have all shown an immense amount of potential in the National Youth League and for the Qantas Young Socceroos, and I believe they have the perfect opportunity to build on their development.”
The Australian Institute of Sport-s leading scorer in the National Youth League with nine goals, towering forward Babalj has fast developed a reputation as one of the brightest young striking talents in the country, impressing with his composure and clinical finishing in the final third of the park.
Taseski meanwhile earned selection for the Young Socceroos on the back of excellent performances for Altona Magic in the Victorian Premier League, where he won a Championship Medal and the Jimmy Rooney Medal for being adjudged the 2009 Grand Final-s Man of the Match.
The youngest player on the Heart list at 17, Hamill arrives in Melbourne after rejecting the overtures of numerous English Premiership outfits, with the central defender instead opting to fine tune his craft under van ‘t Schip and his assistants, Jesper Olsen and Ante Milicic.
GM of Football Operations John Didulica believes the signing of the trio will assist Melbourne Heart FC in helping to build a promising future.
“Winning championships is the goal of Melbourne Heart FC. Only one team though can do that per season so we need to judge ourselves on other measures too,” he said.
“Two of those measures will be how many players we have on the international stage representing Australia and how many players we can assist fulfil their dreams of playing in the top leagues of Europe. Hopefully, our quartet of young boys will each one day tick those two boxes.
“We would also like to thank the AIS and Altona Magic Soccer Club for their support in assisting these players work toward their goal of becoming a professional footballer.”
With the countdown to the club-s competition debut well underway, Melbourne Heart FC invites you to register for priority access and become a member at the Hyundai A-League-s newest football club.
Click here for a registration form.
