Mellish Moves On Up To The EFL With Carlisle

The Heed centre-half has agreed a one-year deal with an option for a second season with the League Two club.

Cumbrians manager Steven Pressley told the club’s website: “The first thing about this signing is that it isn’t easy to find good left-sided central defenders.

“The second thing is that at the age of 21 he played 46 games in the National League last season.

“We’ve watched him a number of times live and we’re really pleased that we’ve got this one over the line. He had a number of clubs who wanted to speak to him but he’s listened to what we had to say and he thinks this is the right step for him.

“I genuinely think he’s a young man who has huge potential and it’s about us now working together to bring that out of him. There’s no better time than pre-season for that to start and I know he’s looking forward to it as well.”

“I’ve spoken to him about what we expect from him and, I have to say, that I think he’s had a great schooling in the game with having played in a very good National League team.

“It’s a tough league and he now understands what it takes to do your job against strong, aggressive attackers.

“He’s experienced first hand the basics of football and that’s really important in a defender’s development. He now has a platform to build on in terms of what comes next and we’re looking forward to helping him to go to the next level.”