Championship lock becomes Wasps ninth signing for next season

Wasps have confirmed their ninth signing ahead of the 2019/20 season with the addition of promising young lock Theo Vukasinovic.

The 22-year-old will make the switch to Ricoh Arena in the summer after spending time with Loughborough Students and most recently London Scottish in their Championship campaign.

A product of the London Irish Academy, 6ft 5in Vukasinovic featured 19 times for Scottish during the 2018/19 season. Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: “Theo is a talented young player with a lot of potential.

“He has impressed in the Championship week in week out and we believe, as we’ve seen with some other players like Ross Neal, Billy Searle, Ben Morris and Michael Le Bourgeois this season, we can aid his development to try and become a Premiership player.”

Vukasinovic said: “Making the move to the Premiership with such a well-renowned club as Wasps is a huge step for me in my rugby career. I can’t wait to test myself alongside and against some of the best players around.”

Vukasinovic's signing on Thursday follows Wednesday's announcement by the club that seven academy players have signed first-team deals ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

Tom Willis, Gabriel Oghre, Will Porter, Tim Cardall, Callum Sirker, Owain James and Sam Spink have all graduated from the Academy, reinforcing the Club’s intent on bringing through and developing young talent.

The septet have all impressed in the Premiership Rugby Shield for Wasps A while some have gone on to play first-team rugby in the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2018/19.

Willis, Oghre and Porter also all went on to make their Premiership debuts during the 2018/19 campaign, as an exciting crop of talent prepare for their first seasons in the senior set-up.

Young said: “We’re thrilled to see these lads come through the system and we’re really pleased with how they’ve performed across the competitions over the last 12 months."

WATCH: Part six of The Academy, the RugbyPass documentary series on the Leicester Tigers