Melbourne Victory is excited to announce it has secured three of the brightest footballing prospects in Victoria.
Youth products Pierce Waring, Josh Hope and Cameron McGilp have all been promoted to A-League contracts.
Waring, a striker, has been in the Melbourne Victory set-up since 2015 when he first stepped out in the National Youth League (NYL), and most recently scored 10 goals for the club in Victoria’s NPL2 competition.
Waring was also a member of Australia’s squad at the Under 17’s World Cup in 2015 and will provide another attacking option during the upcoming 2017/18 campaign.
Hope came to Melbourne Victory via the AIS in 2016 and was an impressive member of the club’s NYL and NPL squads last season.
The 19-year-old forward made two senior Melbourne Victory appearances, both as a substitute, in this year’s FFA Cup and displayed enough promise to be rewarded with a senior contract.
Central midfielder McGilp made his A-League debut as a substitute in last season’s Round 24 clash with Brisbane Roar, and has been a mainstay of Victory’s youth system over the past two years.
The teenager will have the opportunity to further hone his craft alongside the experienced quartet of Carl Valeri, Mark Milligan, Leigh Broxham and Matias Sanchez.
Melbourne Victory head coach Kevin Muscat has been impressed with how well the three youngsters have progressed through the club’s youth system.
“We, as a club, put a lot of effort into developing young Victorian talent and those three boys thoroughly deserve their places in the squad,” said Muscat.
“We’ve monitored them closely for a fair while now and they’re all showing great promise as footballers.
“There’s no doubt that moving into the senior ranks will be a big step for them, but we have an experienced change-room and they’re in safe hands as they begin their journey as professionals.”
Stay tuned to melbournevictory.com.au over the next three days as we get to know Pierce Waring, Josh Hope and Cameron McGilp.
