Glentoran has announced the signing of former Everton goalkeeper Billy Crellin for the remainder of the 2025/26 Sports Direct Premiership season.

The 25-year-old joins the club following his departure from Merseyside club over the summer and brings with him valuable English Football League experience and international pedigree at England youth level.

A highly regarded graduate of Fleetwood Town’s academy, Crellin gained early first-team experience through loan spells with FC United of Manchester, Chorley and Bolton Wanderers, before making the move to his boyhood club Everton in 2022.

During his time on Merseyside, he featured prominently for the club’s U21 and U23 sides and impressed on loan at Accrington Stanley, where he made 34 appearances in League Two during the 2024/25 season.

Born in Blackpool, Crellin has made 50 Football League appearances and represented England from Under-17 to Under-20 level and was part of the squad that won the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Talking about signing for Glentoran, Billy Crellin, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to sign for Glentoran. It’s all happened really quickly, but the moment I heard about the opportunity I jumped at the chance to come here. This is a massive club in Northern Ireland with a proud history and passionate supporters and it’s a huge opportunity for me to experience something completely different in my career.

“I’ve trained with the lads and they’re a great bunch. You can see from their results so far that the team is playing well and pushing hard at the top end of the table. I know it’s going to be a difficult task to get into the team ahead of Andrew Mills, who’s been excellent, but I trust my ability and I’m looking forward to working with the coaching staff every day to try and force my way into the starting line-up.

Declan Devine, First Team Manager at Glentoran said: “We’re absolutely delighted to bring Billy to the club. He’s a goalkeeper with real quality and experience. At 25, he’s already played a lot of senior football in England, has represented his country at youth level and comes with a strong pedigree from Everton.

“We had to react quickly to Peter’s unfortunate injury and from the very first conversation with Billy, it was clear how determined he was to come here, play games and help us win football matches. He’s a modern goalkeeper who is excellent with the ball at his feet, brave and commands his area.

“Andrew Mills has been outstanding for us this season and Billy’s arrival will only push him further. That level of competition in such a key position is exactly what we want as it drives standards every single day. Most importantly, Billy is coming here confident in his ability and hungry to make a real impact.”

Paul Millar, Sporting Director at Glentoran, added: “Bringing Billy in represents an excellent piece of business for the club. We spoke to trusted contacts at Everton who spoke very highly of him both as a goalkeeper and as a person, which gave us real confidence he would be a strong fit for Glentoran.

“From the outset, both Billy and his agent were a pleasure to deal with. They made it clear he wanted to come here, get to work and be part of the squad. That level of commitment and ambition was exactly what we were looking for.

“We’re always focused on strengthening the squad with the right profile of player and Billy ticks all those boxes. He has quality, hunger and experience, and we’re confident he will add real value to the group for the remainder of the season.”

The singing of Billy Crellin was completed following confirmation that Glentoran had agreed to mutually terminate the loan agreement of Peter Urminsky with St Mirren.