Kauno Žalgiris have handed 16-year-old midfielder Adomas Užkurnys his first professional contract at the start of 2026, rewarding another graduate of the club’s football academy.
Užkurnys has been a regular in Lithuania’s youth national-team set-up and made his senior breakthrough in 2025 with Kauno Žalgiris B in the second-tier Pirma lyga. He featured 12 times and scored once.
“It’s a really good feeling because you don’t sign a contract every day,” Užkurnys told the club’s website. “It’s a big achievement and it will push me to aim for even more.”
The Kaunas-born player said he has been with the academy since childhood, thanking his coaches and naming Šarūnas Terleckis as a major influence. “He brought me up from a young age and in football he was like a dad to me,” Užkurnys said.
Užkurnys has also attracted interest from Italy, taking part in trials with Genoa in the spring of 2025 and Pisa in December. “I think it went really well,” he said. “The most interesting part was training with older players. I also played with members of Italy’s youth national teams, so it was fun and really interesting.”
Describing his style, Užkurnys said he aims to make unexpected decisions in possession. “I’d say I’m a distinctive player,” he added. “I want to start training with the first team and make my A Lyga debut, and also establish myself in the B team and win a medal.”
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Source: https://zalgiris.lt/naujienos/16-metis-adomas-uzkurnys-pasirase-pirma-profesionalu-kontrakta-su-fk-kauno-zalgiriu
