Midfielder Owen Bray and winger Sean Elaluku are the first two B-team players to sign professional contracts with the Barrow AFC following successful trial periods with the club.
Both youngsters have impressed the Bluebirds faithful when they have featured in Pete Wild’s side throughout this year’s pre-season leading to them being offered one-year professional deals with the club, with an option for an extra year.
B team Head Coach Jason Taylor said: “We had a series of trials over the summer and since then we’ve had them in over pre-season and they’ve done well in training, done really well in pre-season. At the end of the day, they’ve caught our eye and we wanted to get them in through the door.”
He added: “Owen has a great pair of two feet on him, he’s a good size, got a good build as I’m sure the fans have seen across all the running videos from pre-season. He’s a fit lad as well and fits the profile of a player we’re after in that position so hopefully we can progress him as the season goes on and give him some first-team minutes as the aim is to get them in the first team eventually.”
Bray came through the ranks at Leeds United spending most of his youth career at Elland Road and has also spent time experiencing first-team football in non-league.
Meanwhile, Elaluku came through the ranks at Burnley where he played in the under-18s and under-21s Premier League for the Clarets, before going on to feature for a number of non-league sides before trialing with us.
Taylor added: “Sean’s been very good in the games and the fans have been raving about him. Sean’s got bags of ability, he’s got pace to burn and he’s been a threat in the pre-season games he’s played in. Hopefully, we can nurture his talent and get him to produce that on a consistent basis.”
Welcome to Barrow AFC lads.