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As a holidaying Pep Guardiola pops into Melbourne City headquarters and Milos Degenek seals a move from Japan to Serbia – having not played a minute of World Cup football – potential buyers everywhere are rubbernecking in front of the Socceroos’ shop window.
The World Cup is always a platform from which to spruik with gusto, a quadrennial flea market that club scouts rummage through, hoping to chance upon an unpolished gem stashed somewhere in the back of an old trunk.
Value can be distorted too, as players catch fire over a handful of games, inflating their value and sending clubs into a bidding frenzy.
Still, there is no better shop window for Socceroos hoping to make a move abroad; even players who haven’t made much of an impact enjoy more exposure from a World Cup bench than in any other normal off-season. Which Australian players will make moves in the coming weeks?
Obviously, Daniel Arzani’s future is the hottest topic of speculation. Three promising substitute appearances, in which the young Melbourne City winger was pleasingly unafraid to run at defenders, have prompted urges for him to leave the A-League should an offer come in.
It’s of vital importance Arzani go somewhere where he’ll be valued, given adequate playing minutes, under the stewardship of a manager who likes him.
James Troisi going to Juve, Josh Brillante going to Fiorentina, Daniel Da Silva at Roma – there is a laundry list of young Australian attackers’ careers being stunted by premature moves abroad, and hopefully, Arzani avoids a similar short-term fate.
The first main rumour involves Arzani going with Mark van Bommel and Bert van Marwijk to the Eredivisie – the former Socceroos assistant and manager, respectively, are set to take the reins at PSV in Holland in reversed roles.
This seems, on the surface, absolutely ideal; van Bommel and van Marwijk have first-hand experience of Arzani, know how valuable an attacker he can be and are unlikely to let him rot on the bench.
Holland’s is a league that values technique, as well as the proper, careful rearing of young talent. PSV won the league last season and will enter next season’s Champions League’s playoff rounds. A good club, with a good culture, and a new manager – this all looks excellent.
The second rumour involving Arzani is basically posing a repeat of the Aaron Mooy transaction that saw Manchester City pluck Mooy from Melbourne City, loan him out to great success, then sell him on at a huge profit.
Now, as encouraging a sign as this would be for the health of the City Football Group’s production line – not to mention, depending on the future fee Arzani could command, the fact it could return CFG’s Melbourne investment in full, in less than five years – there seems to be more risk attached.
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Mooy’s success at Huddersfield was wonderful, but naturally, there’s no guarantee Arzani would experience similar involvement at whatever club he was loaned to, or that they’d want to pay to secure him at the end of it.
Obviously, as good as Arzani is, he isn’t in line to play for Manchester City itself. So much will depend on who they loan him to – indeed, a loan back to Melbourne, ala Anthony Caceres, might be a good idea, at least for one more season.
Who else? Well, Trent Sainsbury surely showed enough of his quality to earn a move away from China to a European club. His limbo in Italy, loaned out to Inter, many had hoped would be an opportunity to get a foothold in Europe.
Alas, the nature of that deal – more asset shuffling than genuine football business – was confirmed when he left Italy having made one solitary appearance. He’s been on loan at Grasshoppers in Switzerland since February but has made just nine appearances there.
Surveying the club football he’s actually played in the last 12 months, it really makes for depressing reading; Sainsbury is our best defender and one of the Socceroos’ most consistent performers – that he’s been able to perform to the level he has for the national team, while playing such patchy, sporadic club football is remarkable.
Who needs a classy, ball-playing centre-back who’s good in the tackle and at home in the air? As a West Ham fan, I’d love him as part of our centre back rotation, especially now that James Collins has left the club. There are plenty of teams in the English second division for whom Sainsbury would represent an upgrade at centre back.
Mark Milligan has left Al Ahli, and there are mutterings of an A-League return, possibly with Brisbane. The image of Milligan, sweaty, dishevelled and exhausted, sitting with his daughters on the pitch after Australia’s final group game cemented how valiant and underrated a soldier he has been for the national team. He was excellent too, over the three group games, especially having entered the tourney on a bad run of form.
Josh Risdon was the other newcomer, and showed he can defend ably at a high level; it would not be a surprise to see him snapped up. He’ll need to work hard to become a capable attacking fullback based on his World Cup showing, but certainly has the tools to hone if given the time and support.
Finally, in spite of the fact he wasn’t involved in any of Australia’s games, Jamie Maclaren has some decisions to make regarding where he’ll be next season. His excellent goal return on loan at Hibs in Scotland has piqued interest across the Scottish Premier League, and indeed a return to Hibs would be excellent for him.
(AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Most crucial, in my view, for Maclaren is that he remains overseas, in a challenging environment, rather than returning to the A-League as a marquee – the former Golden Boot winner has very little left to prove in Australia, and based on his progress in Scotland, there should be little doubt he can continue to contribute at that level.
Teams in England, Holland and even Germany should seriously consider his distinct brand of off-the-shoulder, goal-poachery.
The next few weeks will a time of flux, with the World Cup sending out ripples that will shuffle through squads all over the world. We’ll all be hoping our best and brightest can ride those ripples all the way into first-team positions.