Melbourne Victory is pleased to announce that Emre Saglam, Jack Mihailidis, Daniel Lazarevski, Oliver Dragicevic and Xavier Stella will all join the A-League Men’s squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Returning to the Club on 12-month loan from recently promoted Turkish Süper Lig side, Gençlerbirliği, midfielder Emre Saglam will be keen to get some first-team experience under his belt during the 2025/26 season.
After spending time in Victory’s Academy before moving to Turkey, the 20-year-old signed a three-year professional contract with Gençlerbirliği at the start of 2024 and is excited to be loaned back to continue pressing for senior match minutes.
After progressing through the Victory Academy ranks and its recently concluded NPL season, Jack Mihailidis and Daniel Lazarevski are already in training with the A-League Men’s squad.
Mihailidis, a technically gifted midfielder, has been a constant bright spark in Victory’s NPL campaign, impressively donning the captain’s armband multiple times this season at just 18 years of age. Particularly dangerous in delivering set-pieces, Mihailidis was one of the many young guns who received an opportunity to face Wrexham AFC at Marvel Stadium in July.
Seeking to compete for minutes in the front line, 19-year-old striker Lazarevski will be another player keen to impress during the A-League pre-season.
Possessing electrifying speed and power in attack, Lazarevski has been the Young Vucks’ second-highest top scorer this season, adjusting well to the physical nature of senior football.
Along with the continued development of its promising Academy players, Melbourne Victory have also recruited two exciting Melbourne-based talents in Oliver Dragicevic and Xavier Stella.
Dragicevic joins Melbourne Victory from St Albans Saints, having had a break-out season as one of the premier talents in NPL Victoria. The 17-year-old has been a mainstay in the middle of the park for his boyhood club, most notably winning NPL Victoria’s Goal of the Week for Round 22 after producing a stunning curling effort.
Fresh off making his first-team debut in the Australia Cup for Victory’s cross-town rivals, Young Socceroos midfielder Xavier Stella has now followed in the footsteps of Jordi Valadon in making the switch across to navy blue.
Victory’s Head Coach Arthur Diles said he was delighted to be adding such a strong group of talented young players to the Club for the upcoming season.
“We are really pleased to bring Emre back to the Club on loan, and elevate Jack and Daniel to our A-League training squad. They have all progressed through the ranks at Melbourne Victory and represent the talent in the Club’s Academy,” Diles said.
“Equally, to have Oliver and Xavier join the Club, two players who we believe have exciting futures in football is an important step in continuing our talent development. They will have the opportunity to work with the senior squad and I look forward to seeing them bring their best football each week.”
