Jets youth team midfielder Antonee Burke will be on a plane to Portugal on Saturday as the first beneficiary of owner Martin Lee’s plan to develop players overseas.
Burke, 19, has signed an 18-month scholarship with the Jets and will be sent on loan to Academica until June in the Portuguese second-division, which Lee’s Ledman Group sponsors. He will play with the club’s reserve team.
“He will come back to us a better player, and it will be a great experience for him,” Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna said.
Burke was picked in a national under-13 team and trialed once at Aston Villa, but injuries and late physical development had hampered his career until recently.
“Injuries came and I lost confidence. I just got back from a big injury at the end of 2015 and haven’t been injured since, so my confidence is high,” the Emerging Jets graduate said. “Hopefully going to Portugal can help me try to get back into one of the national teams.”
Former Roar youth winger Joe Champness, 19, will join Burke in Portugal after the Young Socceroo also signed an 18-month Jets scholarship. Another Roar youth forward, Harry Sawyer, who made his senior Jets debut against Wanderers last week, and Joeys striker Mark Moric, the son of ex-Sydney United midfielder Ante Moric, have also signed scholarships.
The Jets had hoped to play Sawyer in their youth team in the Northern NSW NPL, but he is one day too old.
The Jets have also expressed interest in signing 18-year-old Wanderers and Young Socceroos striker Mario Shabow.
