Leeds United’s Australian striker Patrick Antelmi is in the running for a spot in the Young Socceroos Under-20 World Cup squad but says at the moment he is focused on his club form.
The 18-year-old joined Leeds from Portsmouth in September last year.
The Liverpool-raised forward from NSW moved to Pompey from Blacktown City at 16 after attracting interest from as young as 14.
Antelmi comes from the famed football nursery of western Sydney and has already made an impression at his new club, knocking in four goals in his first 10 games for Leeds’ Under-21 team.
The young striker, who idolised the football ability of Diego Maradona as a kid, has already played for the Joeys and turned down approaches from Sheffield Wednesday and Hibernian to join the Whites.
I chatted with Antelmi about his journey from Blacktown to Elland Road, about playing for Australia and Leeds United’s links with past Aussie players.
We also spoke about the development of his game and about the rise of the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Follow John on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The Matilda scored the first two of her team's goals in the 4-0 win.
With the Liverpool manager leaving the club after this season, his West Ham rival can't wait for him to go - in the nicest…
Arsenal have survived a late scare at Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham to stay narrowly ahead in the compelling race for the Premier League title. A…
At the time this column usually goes live next Monday morning, I’ll be in the stands at Selhurst Park watching Crystal Palace take on…
And just like that, another A-League regular season (sans one game) is in the books and we look ahead to the finals. Let's recap…
Salah was dropped from the starting side for the visit to London - and the striker was involved in a furious confrontation with Klopp…
