Middlesbrough FC sign Australian players Sam Silvera and Tom Glover
Middlesbrough FC have signed two Australian players who are joining the club on a three-year contract.
Goal keeper Tom Glover and midfielder Sam Silvera both signed deals for an undisclosed fee.
The squad has now made four summer signings including the 21-year-old forward Alex Gilbert and 18-year-old defender Rav Van Den Berg.
Here's what you need to know about the new Boro players.
Tom Glover
Glover grew up in Sydney before moving to London in 2014 to join Tottenham Hotspur’s Academy.
The goalkeeper was a regular for Spurs’ under-18s and then their under-21s, and played in the club’s run to the FA Youth Cup semi-final in the 2014/15 season.
The 25-year-old was included in Spurs’ first-team squad on a handful of occasions, serving as back-up to Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm.
In summer 2017, Glover returned home to join Central Coast Mariners on a season-long loan, before returning to Europe for a loan spell with Swedish side Helsingborg.
In 2019, he made a permanent return home, this time signing for Melbourne City.
At the end of his first season, Glover and his teammates lost the A-League Grand Final (which decides the Championship at the end of post-season play-offs) to Sydney FC in extra-time.
Glover was later nominated for the division’s Young Player of the Year.
He also won successive A-League Premiership titles with the club (for finishing top of the table in the regular season) in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, missing just three matches in what was an historic accomplishment in the Aussie game.
Glover has been capped at under-20 and under-23 level, and joined Riley McGree in the Olyroos squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He has been called up by Socceroos boss Graham Arnold but is yet to make his senior international debut.
Sam Silvera
Born in London, 22-year-old Silvera grew up and began his playing career in New South Wales, Australia.
He emerged onto the scene with Western Sydney Wanderers, and was named their under-20 player of the year in 2017.
Silvera made the short switch to Central Coast Mariners, based in neighbouring Gosford, in 2019.
He made his professional debut in a cup tie against Maitland FC, providing an assist, followed by a his first goal in a 2-2 draw with Brisbane Roar in the same competition.
Establishing himself in the side, he would make a total of 21 appearances in his debut A-League campaign, scoring twice.
After trials with Los Angeles FC, he returned to Europe in 2020, joining Portuguese top flight club Paços de Ferreira. He spent time on loan with two lower league clubs; Casa Pia, and later Sanjoanense.
In 2021/22, he returned to the A-League with Newcastle Jets - something of a controversial move given the club’s fierce rivalry with former club Central Coast Mariners.
After a year with the Jets, it was upon returning to the Mariners ahead of the 2022/23 and was an integral part of the Mariners’ A-League championship-winning side in 2022/23, scoring in both the semi-finals and grand final.
Silvera has represented Australia twice at under-23 level.
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