, Carlisle United sign former Gateshead defender

Carlisle United sign former Gateshead defender

Carlisle United have signed former Gateshead defender Jon Mellish on a one-year deal with an option of a further year, confirmed by the club website.

League Two side Carlisle United have signed former Gateshead defender Jon Mellish on a one-year deal with an option of a further year.

Jon Mellish had attracted a host if interest from a number of Football League and National League clubs since his Gateshead contract expired three weeks ago, but Carlisle United have won the race to sign him.

The 21-year old picked up the National League’s young player of the year award earlier this week at a ceremony in London.

Carlisle United manager Steven Pressley spoke to the club website about the signing of Jon Mellish: “The first thing about this signing is that it isn’t easy to find good left-sided central defenders.

“The second thing is that at the age of 21 he played 46 games in the Conference last season and he picked up the award that he got at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday because of how he did in those games.

“We’ve watched him a number of times live and we’re really pleased that we’ve got this one over the line. He had a number of clubs who wanted to speak to him but he’s listened to what we had to say and he thinks this is the right step for him.

“I genuinely think he’s a young man who has huge potential and it’s about us now working together to bring that out of him. There’s no better time than pre-season for that to start and I know he’s looking forward to it as well.”

“I’ve spoken to him about what we expect from him and, I have to say, that I think he’s had a great schooling in the game with having played in a very good Conference team, it’s a tough league and he now understands what it takes to do your job against strong, aggressive attackers.

“He’s experienced first hand the basics of football and that’s really important in a defender’s development. He now has a platform to build on in terms of what comes next and we’re looking forward to helping him to go to the next level.”

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