Embarking on a life-changing adventure on the other side of the world is a daunting prospect for any footballer, but the sound of a familiar accent thousands of miles from home can be comforting and reassuring.
Non-Old Firm clubs have tended to shape recruitment planning around the leftover scraps from the English lower leagues, however teams are gradually broadening horizons and capitalising on opportunities beyond the confines of domestic markets.
Departing from a well-trodden path increases the risk for clubs, but a natural excitement and mystique develops from embracing the unknown. The A-League has become a market of particular interest to Scottish clubs, and 13 Australians are currently plying their trade in the Premiership.
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There is just one Australian registered in the English Premier League this season - Tyrese Francois of Fulham - and a further 15 players are involved across the divisions in the EFL. The Australian community is growing at speed in Scotland, and more are expected to arrive in upcoming windows.
Under the guidance of sporting director Joe Savage, Heart of Midlothian are leading the Scottish recruitment splurge Down Under. A trio of Australians regularly feature for the Jam Tarts - Cameron Devlin, Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles - and they will all experience European group-stage action this season.
Devlin started a flurry of transactions between the A-League and Scotland when he moved to Edinburgh last summer. The tenacious and combative midfielder could have been a Dundee United player 12 months earlier, but complications prevented negotiations from advancing.
“One of my European colleagues rang me and said Robbie Neilson was interested in Cammy,” Devlin’s agent, Tony Rallis, tells The Sportsman. “Savage was exceptional to deal with, a gentleman in his conduct. We were excited, not because Cammy was going to go there and make billions, but because they had a manager that we felt had really gone out of his way to study the player and say all the right things – evidence-based rather than just words.
“Hearts view Australia as a cheap market and believe it is possible to sell Cammy down the track. We understand this is not his end destination, and this is a transition to bigger and better things. Neilson, outside of describing Cammy’s skillset to a tee, demonstrated to me that he had really studied the player, both as a footballer and as a character. Neilson said: ‘If he is still here in three years, and we have not sold him for £1.5 million, then both we and him have failed,’ so I knew he was going to play.”
The A-League television deal is worth around £22 million annually, even less than the paltry sum generated by the SPFL. The Australian league is a buyer's market, players can be snapped up at minimal cost, and sellers are content to recoup value via sell-on clauses.
Being positioned next to the English Premier League has considerable drawbacks, yet there are some benefits from being situated next to a global powerhouse. When recruiting from abroad, Scottish clubs can entice talent by offering a pathway to the land of milk and honey.
“With Brexit, I realised Cammy could not get into England without a British passport,” explains Rallis, who is the managing director of the Football House Plus agency in Australia. “The next best thing was to send him to Scotland because he automatically gets eight out of the 15 points necessary for a work permit. If he plays for the national team, and Australia remain ranked in the top 30, then all of a sudden he will qualify to get into England, which cannot be done directly.
“It’s easier for Australians to transition into UK life. They do not have to learn another language, and Australians and New Zealanders are generally humble, hard-working and adaptable.
“I am on Transfer Room, a subscription-based website. It only has a hundred agents registered, but it has 620 clubs. I have been speaking to many Scottish clubs and they are saying they have plans to go deep into the Australian and New Zealand markets.”
Ange Postecoglou was the Manager of the Year last season, leading Celtic to a deserved title success - and he has added his compatriot Harry Kewell to the coaching set-up for the campaign ahead.
“Postecoglou has raised the profile of Scottish football in Australia, especially Celtic’s,” added Rallis. “Australians are extremely proud of him because we have proved before we can produce top players, but we have four or five exceptional coaches, including Ange, who have not had a chance to show their talent in Europe.”
Postecoglou has already made his mark on the Scottish game, and the 13-strong Aussie contingent will also be eager to make a lasting impression in the long season ahead.
Australians In The Premiership
1) Aaron Mooy - Celtic
2) Aziz Behich - Dundee United,
3) Mark Birighitti - Dundee United
4) Lewis Miller - Hibernian
5) Martin Boyle - Hibernian
6) Cameron Devlin - Hearts
7) Nathaniel Atkinson - Hearts
8) Kye Rowles - Hearts
9) Dylan McGowan - Kilmarnock
10) Phillip Cancar - Livingston
11) Ryan McGowan - St. Johnstone
12) Keanu Baccus - St Mirren
13) Ryan Strain - St Mirren
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
