England youth international goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe has signed his first professional contract to be part of Brentford’s B Team squad. The stopper turned 17 on Saturday, 15 October, and was then able to sign as a professional. He has signed a contract until the end of the 2018/19 season to be part of the B Team group.

Ellery has been part of the England Under-18 squad this season and made his debut for the national team against Sweden earlier this month. He was part of Brentford’s Youth Team last season when in the Under-16 squad and has been training with the B Team group since the start of the season. He has played seven games for the B Team this campaign, four from the start.

Rob Rowan said: “I am very happy that Ellery has decided to begin his professional career with Brentford. Ellery has a high level of potential as a goalkeeper and it was pleasing to see his potential acknowledged at international level by England Under-18’s at the start of this month.

"Ellery needs to maintain his excellent work ethic and openness to learn in order to further his development as a goalkeeper. Recently, the technical staff and Ellery collectively created a Development Plan to tailor his training sessions to be more specific on his strengths and weaknesses, as opposed to a generic approach, which I’m sure can only aid his development and align him further with our style of play.

"Despite being the youngest in the squad he has settled in very quickly and is popular among players and staff. We look forward to working with him over the next few years”