Peter Grant adds Leon Jones to his squad

Dunfermline Athletic capture the signature of Kentucky Wildcats central defender

Dunfermline are delighted to announce the signing of 23 year old, Leon Jones on a 1 year contract. The central defender has recently returned from a four-year scholarship at the University of Kentucky. Jones graduated with a degree in chemical engineering but he is still desperate to follow his football dreams.

Leon had been at Hearts from the age of seven, he made two appearances for Hearts U20s in 2016-17 Irn Bru Cup. That was after he had won four caps for Scotland U15s and 5 caps at U16 level playing alongside the likes of Ross McCrorie and Regan Hendry, captaining at both levels.

The young Glaswegian was one of the country’s most promising prospects back in 2013. He had just captained his country to a Victory Shield win over England before he decided to take a different path to what is expected in Scotland.

His American diversion came as a consequence of turning down a one-year contract extension from Hearts Craig Levein. In the US college leagues he featured for his university’s soccer team, Kentucky Wildcats and was a key player in their league title and cup success in 2019, the best ever season in their history.

The 5ft 11in defender loved life in the United States being able to make the best of both worlds, in education and sport. Leon claims however that his football will always come before his degree and he’s as driven as he has ever been to play professionally.

His ambitions won’t stop there though. Success in the States has attracted the interest of the Chinese national team, thanks to his Hong Kong born mother, Jennifer. An appearance for Hong Kong or China could follow if he can impress in a Dunfermline shirt.

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