The 18-year-old forward arrived in South London as a free agent, having last played for Brisbane Roar in the A-League - the highest level of Australian football.
He made his professional debut for the Roar in October 2023 and went on to make 11 appearances in total during the 23/24 season, scoring once against Melbourne City and registering an assist against Adelaide United.
Upon signing, Brownlie said: “It feels amazing, absolutely amazing. The facilities here are incredible and I just want to get some minutes and start scoring goals.”
Academy Director Gary Issott added: “We were made aware of Rylan after seeing him play first-team football for Brisbane Roar.
“He’s an attacking player who can play anywhere along the front three and will feature as part of the Under-21s side.”
Brownlie made his first appearance in red and blue a day after signing as a substitute for the Under-18s, coming on to help the side to a 3-1 victory over West Ham United.
He made four appearances out of a possible five for the U18s, after joining towards the back end of the season.
Brownlie was also called up to the Australia U18s side for their UEFA Friendship Cup. He scored for the young Socceroos against the United States and also chalked up an assist.
So far in 25/26, Brownlie has been a regular part of Darren Powell’s U21s matchday squad, but has made just one appearance at the time of writing.
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