Perth Glory’s first signing of a post-Adam Taggart era is a defender, with one of the stars of this year’s Australia Cup in Cher Deng joining the club on a two-year deal.

The 21 year-old Lions FC centre-back played against Perth in the NPL Queensland side’s Australia Cup upset win over Glory in July and has been part of their run to the semifinals of the competition.

Deng has been a defensive mainstay for Lions FC this season as they finished eight points clear atop the NPL Queensland ladder.

The defender also played in Lions’ Australia Cup wins over North Sunshine Eagles SC and Melbourne City, winning 83 per cent of his aerial duels across those games and making 30 clearances and 40 overall defensive contributions.

A former Central Coast Mariners academy player, the 1.94m centre-back spent a year playing for Balestier Khalsa FC in the Singapore Premier League and said he was delighted to get his A-League chance.

“It’s a proud moment for myself and my family and I just can’t wait to get into the work and get started,” he said.

“I want to be able to test myself and see if I can prove myself at full-time professional level again.

“I’m a very passionate player, I’m looking forward to playing for the club and I’m going to give everything for the the colours and the city.”

Glory football director Stan Lazaridis said Deng had huge potential and would compliment current centre-backs Scott Wootton, Brian Kaltak, Lachlan Jackson and Andriano Lebib.

“We’re thrilled to have got Cher on board,” he said.

“He was a standout performer when we played Lions FC in the Cup and again when they played Melbourne City and his NPL form this year has been just as outstanding.

“As well as his physical presence, he’s also very mobile and a good distributor and at 21, he very much fits our player profile.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Cher can be a big player for us going forward and we’re excited to add him to the group.”