Kingston City have continued their signings spree of late with the addition of former Springvale White Eagles Captain Simo Jovanovic to the 2016 senior squad.
The 21-year-old centre-back moves to the Grange Reserve having spent his entire career so far with Springvale, whom he represented exclusively over the course of his juniors before going onto make 72 senior appearances for the club, scoring three goals.
A senior debut in 2012 under Bojo Jevdjevic followed when the then 17-year-old came off the bench in a State League 1 clash against Altona Magic.
After being unable to prevent the Keysborough-based club from relegation into the third tier, Jovanovic emerged as a first-team regular the following season as Zed Mihajlovic’s side won the 2013 State League 2 Championship by defeating Moreland City after beating Dandenong City to first place in the South-East standings.
Jovanovic was given the captain’s armband in 2014 as the White Eagles finished a disappointing 11th, although the young defender was one of the side’s standout performers during the season.
Osteitis pubis saw him miss the latter rounds of the inaugural NPL 1 season before injury restricted his 2015 campaign to 15 appearances, as the former VPL outfit won just four out of their 28 league matches.
Kingston City manager Nick Tolios praised the youngster, saying: “Simo brings experience at this level despite his young age”.
“We were impressed with his defensive attributes and the leadership he brings into the squad as he has captained the White Eagles for the past three seasons.”
The 21-year-old is expected to partner former Bentleigh Greens defender Ryan Love at the heart of the defence, with the duo tasked with replacing the departing centre-back pairing of James Karvelis and Englishman Jamal Clarke.
Jovanovic becomes the club’s eighth off-season signing after Love, ex-Oakleigh midfielder Rowan McNamee, former George Cross attacker Slaven Vranesevic, Libyan born winger Mouad Zwed, former Perth Glory striker Jerry Karpeh and recent visa signings Julien Chaumet and Zdenek Koukal.
Meanwhile the club has also managed to retain the services of Jovanovic’s former White Eagles teammate Hamish Millar, who was being courted by an NPL club.
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