Perth Glory have secured the services of 27-year-old Irish midfielder Aaron McEneff, who joins the club for an undisclosed fee from Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian.
McEneff heads Down Under after two seasons at the Edinburgh club, helping hearts clinch the Scottish Championship title before making 22 appearances in the subsequent campaign in the Premiership, featuring in his side’s Scottish Cup Final loss to Rangers in early June.
Formerly of Tottenham Hotspur as an Under-18 and U23 player, McEneff plied his trade for hometown club Derry City in the League of Ireland before moving on to Shamrock Rovers, where he played against AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League in 2020.
McEneff says an “ambitious” Glory head coach Ruben Zadkovich helped convince him of a surprise move to Western Australia.
“It’s an opportunity that kind of came up out of the blue and it’s one which really excited myself and my family,” McEneff said.
“For me personally, it’s a massive opportunity to come to Australia, put the purple kit on and play for a club which is showing real ambition to get back to where they want to be in terms of winning trophies and competing at the top end of the table.
“From speaking to (Glory head of recruitment) Andy Keogh, Ruben Zadkovich and my agent, I got a really good feeling about what the club wants to do and where they want to go and I really want to be a part of it.
“The way Ruben explained to me how he wants his team to play and go about things as a manager fits into the way I play and from speaking to him, he sounds really ambitious.
“The biggest thing I took from the conversation with him was that he’s a winner and he wants to win football matches.
“I’ve won trophies myself in the past and I want to continue to do so.
“So coming out to Perth, with the club going in that direction and showing that ambition, it’s something that I want to be a part of.”
McEneff is a former Northern Ireland U17 and U19 representative, and was included in the Republic of Ireland senior squad as recently as November 2020.
