Brentford B are pleased to announce the signing of Erion Zabeli from Oxford United on a one-year deal with a club option of an additional year.

The centre-back linked up with Neil MacFarlane’s B-team squad on the first day of pre-season as the side prepare for their 2023/24 campaign.

Zabeli has put pen to paper on a deal with the Bees after an impressive trial period at the back end of last season. The defender appeared for the B team in their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle Under-21s at the Powerday Stadium in May.

Previously spending two years in the under-18 squad at Oxford, Zabeli was part of the team that reached last season’s FA Youth Cup quarter-final, the furthest any Oxford side has progressed in the 71-year history of the competition.

The youngster has featured eight times for the Albanian national team at youth level across four different age groups, receiving his first call-up for the under-19 group during the first year of his scholarship at Oxford.

Discussing Erion’s arrival, B team head coach Neil MacFarlane said: “We’re really happy to announce the signing of Erion, he joined us towards the end of last season on trial and we decided to bring him in permanently as we feel he has a lot of potential and is a player we can develop.

“We think this is a really good piece of recruitment. Myself and the rest of the coaching staff believe Erion will be a good addition to the squad as we look to continue to grow this group.”