Draft:Maksim Kasalovic

Maksim Kasalovic (born 17 March 2003) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for APIA Leichhardt FC in the National Premier Leagues NSW

Early life
Maksim Kasalovic was born in Sydney, Australia, to Serbian parents who hailed from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He attended St. Spyridon College in Sydney before moving to Europe at the age of 15. While in Europe, he continued his education at the Finigan School of Distance Education. Maksim is multilingual and can fluently speak Serbian/Croatian, in addition to his native language, English.

Youth career
Kasalovic began his football career with Sydney University SFC and later joined Rockdale City Suns. In 2017, he played for the u14's Football New South Wales Metro East team that won the state championship. During the first Australian Youth Football Institute camp the same year, he was discovered by Everton FC scout Damian Matthew. Kasalovic spent three months in England training with different youth academies.

Central Coast Mariners
In 2020, Kasalovic was scouted and signed by the Central Coast Mariners to join their academy set-up. He was awarded Player of the Year during his first year playing with the U18's academy side. He played regularly for the academy U20s and the first-grade NPL team the following year.

In the 2022 season, while playing for the Mariners NPL first grade team, the team won the Premiership in the newly renamed NSW League One competition by finishing top of the table. This achievement led to their promotion to the top-flight National Premier Leagues NSW Men's competition for the 2023 season.

Kasalovic debuted for the Central Coast Mariners in the 2022 Australia Cup, appearing as a substitute in a penalty shootout loss to Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval. He was later included in the A-League Men's match day squad for the first time, featuring on the card at CommBank Stadium against the Wanderers.

In 2023, Kasalovic received a scholarship contract from the club to join their first-team squad for the 2023-24 A-League season.