Sydney FC goalkeeper and PFA Executive Committee Member Andrew Redmayne spoke about how the Sky Blues have led the talent revolution in PFA’s 2023-24 A-League Men’s report.
By Andrew Redmayne
The A-League Men provides such an important stepping stone for young Australian players.
The young talent in the competition is getting better and better each season. There have always been young players; I remember a fresh-faced Alex Wilkinson in year one of the A-League. But I think more teams are turning towards and trusting young players to do a job.
Standards are increasing, and the roots of the clubs are growing deeper. Clubs now have established academies, and they are putting a lot more time and resources into players.
At Sydney FC, I have had a front row seat to witnessing the development of some of the best young talents in the country. In my opinion, they are leading the way in Australia when it comes to youth development. Coming into a facility like Sky Park has certainly enhanced my ambitions to be as professional as I can. If we double down and put more effort into facilities and youth development, it will make the game more sustainable and grow the league.
For lack of a better phrase, we’ve always had a ‘no dickhead’ policy at Sydney FC and have a humble changeroom where young boys can come in and work hard, but also learn off each other. Sydney grabs a lot of headlines for the big names who come in, but they really help foster youth too.
When you look around the league, there’s boys in almost every team that have come through the Sydney FC Academy. There’s Harry Van der Saag at Brisbane, Clayton Taylor at Newcastle, Marco Tilio and Callum Talbot at Melbourne City, and Ryan Teague at Melbourne Victory, just to name a few. It’s so exciting to see young boys given a chance, and taking it.
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The talent continues to get better right across the country and even though the exposure is getting better, the players still have to match the quality. The majority of emerging talent coming through the Socceroos bloomed in the A-League Men. It provides a crucial step for players to learn their trade.
There are players going to clubs overseas and playing really well. Cammy Devlin is a regular at Hearts, for example. Boys are going into clubs overseas straight from the A-League Men, slotting in and playing extremely well.
It’s amazing seeing the fees some of the young Aussies are demanding on the international transfer market too. I would love to see clubs double down and take the transfer fees that they’re getting and investing them back into their young players.
