Craig McLeish believes a move to Paisley could prove the catalyst for Jacob Chapman’s push into international football with Australia.
The 25-year-old goalkeeper has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with St Mirren after departing Huddersfield Town this summer.
Chapman arrives with ambitions of breaking into Tony Popovic’s Socceroos squad over the coming seasons.
The signing addresses a gap left by Shamal George, whose season-long loan from Wycombe Wanderers came to an end following his stint in Paisley.
Chapman made 25 appearances during his time at Huddersfield but spent much of his period in West Yorkshire out on loan.
His loan spells took him to Crawley Town, Rochdale, Salford City, and Gateshead, giving him a broad range of experience across the English Football League.
McLeish was particularly impressed by the 6ft 2in keeper’s numbers, noting his output in the lower leagues pointed to a goalkeeper ready for a bigger stage.
He said: “Jacob is a really good all-round goalkeeper. He will help us for building the ball from the back.”
McLeish added: “He went out on-loan into League Two last season and kept a lot of clean sheets and statistically was one of the best shotstoppers in that league.”
The Buddies boss has been clear that permanence was a key factor driving the club’s recruitment approach in the goalkeeping position this window.
St Mirren have relied on loan goalkeepers for three consecutive seasons, with Zach Hemming and Emery Balcombe among those previously filling the role alongside George.
McLeish said: “More importantly he is a permanent goalkeeper. We wanted to get away from taking in a loan and developing another club’s goalkeeper for them.”
The manager outlined ambitious personal targets for Chapman, with international recognition forming a central part of the development plan put in place at the club.
McLeish continued: “He has aspirations to break into the Australian national team and things like that. They are part of the targets we are setting for him and we want to work on them over the next two to three years.”
Chapman is one of four new arrivals at the SMiSA Stadium, joining midfielders Samuel Ramos from Zemplin Michalovce and Ryan Carr from Ipswich Town, as well as Airdrie playmaker Chris Mochrie.
All four were involved in last week’s pre-season friendly defeat to Hearts in Spain as the club builds towards the new campaign.
St Mirren open their League Cup campaign on Saturday with an away fixture against Dumbarton, giving Chapman an early opportunity to stake his claim as the club’s first-choice keeper.
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