England youth international goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe has committed his future to Brentford by signing a four-year contract. The 18-year-old has been part of the B Team group for the past two seasons and signed professional terms with the Club days after his 17th birthday. Earlier today, Wednesday 20 June, Ellery signed a four-year contract, which will run until the summer of 2022. The England Under-19 international has also been promoted to the First Team group.

Ellery, 18, came through the ranks and was playing Under-18 football for The Bees when just 16. He was taken on as part of the B Team group when the squad was created in the summer of 2016. He signed a professional contract a few months later as he turned 17. In the past two years in the B Team, Ellery has played 53 games.

The teenage goalkeeper has also been around the First Team group in recent years. As well as training with the senior goalkeepers, Ellery has been part of the matchday squad twice. He was on the bench for the Sky Bet Championship game against Fulham in 2016 and the Emirates FA Cup tie against Notts County at the start of this year.

Ellery has spent much of the close season with England. He was named as part of a squad that spent a week preparing for the upcoming 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championships, which will be held in Finland in May. He then went to France to train with the Under-21 squad that won the prestigious Toulon Tournament. Ellery won that same competition with England when they sent an Under-20 side last summer and played in two of England’s three matches in the final qualifying round for the Under-19 competition. He has nine international appearances to his credit overall.

Dean Smith, Brentford FC Head Coach, said: “We are all pleased that Ellery has committed his short-term future to Brentford. He has progressed well over the last couple of years under the tutelage of Kevin O’Connor, Allan Steele and Jani Viander with the B Team and we now feel for his further development he needs to be working with the senior goalkeepers. The reports from the close season with the England camp have been very pleasing and he can now continue to fulfil his potential by working hard and learning from the seniors in the First Team squad over the next period of his development.”