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Ange and Mile’s reunion

We start in England and specifically giants Tottenham Hotspur, where Socceroos fans rejoiced at the reunion of former captain Mile Jedinak and manager Ange Postecoglou. It was announced in late June that Jedinak would link up with his ex-national team boss on the Spurs coaching staff, signing on as an assistant coach for the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Jedinak’s last role was as a loan development coach at Aston Villa. His appointment to Postecoglou’s new coaching staff resonated similarly to when the former Celtic boss appointed Harry Kewell to his backroom team ahead of the 2022/23 season.

But more importantly, two pioneers for one of the Socceroos' most successful periods will link up again. The duo’s biggest accomplishment during the Postecoglou era was winning the 2015 Asian Cup. But it can’t be forgotten that Jedinak ensured Postecoglou left the national set-up on a high after his heroic, albeit unspectacular, hat-trick against Honduras qualified Australia for the 2018 World Cup in what was ultimately Postecoglou’s final game in charge.

Now, Postecoglou and Jedinak are back together again. Spurs will travel to Perth for a friendly against rivals West Ham at Optus Stadium on July 18. The perfect storm is truly hitting football fans in the city, as they can reacquaint themselves with two icons of Australian football and attend Women's World Cup fixtures.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou’s former assistant at Yokohama F. Marinos, Peter Cklamovski, was appointed the new manager of J-League side FC Tokyo last month. Despite being shown the door by J2 club Montedio Yamagata at the start of April, Cklamovski is now seemingly in a more prestigious job by coaching a side in one of Asia’s top leagues.

However, this role isn’t the first he has had in the Japanese top tier, having managed Shimizu S-Pulse for an unsuccessful 25-game period in 2020. Cklamovski is a much more accomplished coach now, though. FC Tokyo is currently in a position of consolidating mid-table obscurity. But given Cklamovski's ambition, he might focus on making history long-term and becoming the first manager to bring a J-League title to the club. After all, Aussie managers have had a love affair with the competition in recent years.

Elsewhere, Anthony Limbrick has a new home, having been appointed the new manager of Manchester 1962 in Gibraltar on a two-year deal. The Aussie was the 2022 Cymru Premier League Manager of the Year in Wales after leading The New Saints to a league and cup double in 2021/22.

Finally, another Aussie has joined Patrick Kisnorbo’s coaching staff at Troyes, with John Maisano leaving Melbourne City in mid-June to become an assistant coach at the Ligue 2 side. Maisano has worked his way up the ranks in Victoria, spending four years at NPL club Bulleen Lions before joining Melbourne City’s academy. Now, he is part of a Troyes coaching staff aiming for promotion back up to the French top flight.

Grant continues to make Socceroos case

As mentioned in our April report, former Perth Glory defender Alex Grant has enjoyed an incredible spell with K-League side Pohang Steelers since joining in February 2021, which has continued throughout the 2023 season.

Grant played every minute of Pohang’s four matches in June as the club consolidated second place.

Grant has notched a few goals in 2023 and has become a dangerous threat from set-pieces since moving to South Korea. Interestingly, he ranks amongst the best defenders in the league for shots on target.

“I always feel that when we've got set pieces, I'm always a threat. I'm always up there and I can get my head on the end of a decent ball,” Grant told K-League United last month.

“So, I'm looking at [Baek] Sung-dong now, he's gotta put in a decent ball if I want to get on the end of one! So yeah, it works both ways, but yeah, I mean that's a good stat to know I guess. That's all football now, stats.”

Alongside his improved goalscoring abilities, Grant has put together a long spell of consistent minutes and form and has played in huge Asian Champions League matches. Calls that the former Stoke City youngster should receive a maiden Socceroos cap are growing stronger.

But two main stumbling blocks are likely thwarting a possible call-up: Grant’s age and the competition currently ahead of him.

For the friendly against Argentina, Graham Arnold named Alessandro Circati, Kye Rowles, and Harry Souttar as the three recognised centre-backs in his squad. An argument can be made that Grant should be called over a player such as Circati due to having vastly more experience at this level. But as evidenced by the youngster not seeing the pitch in Beijing, Circati was taken to be a part of the experience of a senior international camp.

Arnold likely does not see the need to call up a 29-year-old Grant should he only be used as a backup. Meanwhile, despite Souttar’s struggles for game time since moving to Leicester, he and Rowles are still arguably untouchable as Arnold’s first-choice centre-back pairing.

However, two fundamental reasons support Grant’s case for a call-up, particularly heading towards the Asian Cup next year. His capability as a goalscoring threat suits Arnold’s playing style and game plan, as the Socceroos boss looks to make the most of attacking set-piece opportunities.

But more crucially, with all eyes now on a major tournament against Asia’s elite, it may be beneficial to have a player around the squad who has successfully competed against clubs from the region, even if Grant is not a first-choice option. As shown by the selection and subsequent crucial performances of Mitch Duke at the World Cup, experience and know-how are still key to any Socceroo success.

Only time can answer this possible selection conundrum for Arnold. But Grant is undoubtedly doing enough to at least be on his radar.

Aussies thriving in Asia

But Grant is certainly not the only Aussie thriving in Asia.

We’ll start with the previously mentioned Duke, who is enjoying life with J2 club Machida Zelvia as they look destined for automatic promotion into the J-League in 2023.

Duke is an integral member of the squad, and in June, he made four appearances – starting three times – as the side won two of their four matches and went undefeated for the month. His best moment came against V-Varen Nagasaki on Matchday 20. Duke netted a brace, his first league one since his time at the Western Sydney Wanderers.

It feels like a broken record, but elsewhere in Japan, Mitch Langerak had yet another strong month at Nagoya Grampus. Langerak played every minute as his side won two of their three games.

Intriguingly, despite having an incredibly successful five and a half years at the J-League club from an individual perspective, the former Borussia Dortmund man has not been able to get his hands on much silverware, only winning one trophy: the J-League Cup in 2021. That fact might change should the 2023 J-League table be anything to go by. Nagoya is in the thick of a competitive title race with Kevin Muscat’s Yokohama, Vissel Kobe, and the Urawa Red Diamonds.

Meanwhile, in the K-League, former Newcastle Jets defender Lachlan Jackson played every minute for Suwon FC last month. Unfortunately, Jackson’s side only won once.

However, there was much more team success for Peter Makrillos at Chungbuk Cheongju in the K-League 2, as his side won two of their three games in June. Crucially, though, Makrillos scored twice across three starts and is beginning to become an integral member of the club, which remain an outside chance for promotion in 2023.

More major moves abroad

Our June report certainly wouldn’t be complete without mentioning a few major transfers for current and future Socceroo talents last month.

Although the move may push him toward the periphery of Graham Arnold’s plans, Jason Cummings decided to swap the Central Coast for the Indian Super League and Mohun Bagan.

Cummings was an incredible figure for the A-League Men, quickly becoming adored by the Mariners and the league’s followers. But, probably because of his overwhelming charisma and personality off the pitch, it’s easy to forget how important he was on it for the Mariners.

From a stylistic perspective, Cummings’ ability to drop deeper in possession and help the Mariners progress the ball into the final third was unmatched by any striker in the league. But strikers are brought in to put up numbers, and from a purely statistical perspective, Cummings was transcendent. His 31 goals and 12 assists in only 50 games was an incredible return.

Another player who was transcendent for the Mariners throughout their championship run was Nectarios Triantis, and it’s no surprise former Premier League regulars Sunderland decided to snap up the 20-year-old last month. Stepping up to the Championship in England will be a physical and mental challenge for Triantis, particularly with The Black Cats craving a long-awaited return to the big time. But technically, Triantis has a lot to offer, and his ball-playing abilities may be some of the best we’ve seen from a young Australian defender over the past decade.

Concerning youngsters who moved to the UK in June, Melbourne City star Marco Tilio signed for Scottish champions Celtic. Ensuring Australian football’s special connection to The Hoops continued, Tilio joins as Brendan Rodgers returns to replace Ange Postecoglou. The initial hope of most Australian football followers is that Tilio is in and around the first-team picture next season. After all, Celtic did cough up a decent fee to land the 21-year-old and have signed him to a five-year deal. They are invested in the winger and his talent.

Former A-League prospect and current Hibernian right-back Lewis Miller certainly believes Tilio will make an impact, even if it takes time.

“It will take time for him to adapt but us Australians are mentally tough, give us a bit of time and we’ll flourish. Tilio is a great player, he caused mayhem last season, he got them to the Grand Final,” he told the Daily Record.

“I wish him all the best Aussie to Aussie but we won’t be friends when we’re playing! You love to see fellow Australians flourish because it’s a good look for the country and our football.

“We get more notice, more media attention. There have been a lot of moves from the league so it’s really positive. And I think Australian football is going in the right direction.”

Tilio’s former teammate Aiden O’Neill was also on the move last month, signing for Standard Liège in Belgium. O’Neill has been a model of consistency at Melbourne City over the past two seasons and certainly earned his move.

With Aaron Mooy retiring, a space has opened up in the Socceroos' midfield. O’Neill will likely face stiff competition for places, with Cameron Devlin and Keanu Baccus also vying for minutes. But should he hit the ground running in Belgium, Graham Arnold may turn to the 25-year-old to start at the base of Australia’s midfield.

German giants snap up Joey

But those four were not the only Australians to make major moves abroad from A-League Men clubs in June.

Taking most Australian football followers by surprise, Joeys goalkeeper Anthony Pavlesic completed a stunning transfer to German giants Bayern Munich from the Central Coast Mariners.

Despite not playing a senior game for the Mariners, Bayern sees something in the 17-year-old, adding him to their youth ranks on a three-year deal. Bayern’s goalkeeping co-ordinator Tom Starke provided a background behind the signing in a statement last month.

“Anthony completed a two-week trial with us in February and left a lasting impression. We then continued to follow him very closely and decided that the overall package was the right one. He is a very positive guy who is very mature for his age and has all the physical requirements,” he said.

The move also represented another sale for the Mariners, who continue to make ample revenue by developing Australian talent for the European market.

Pavlesic was solid albeit unspectacular throughout the Joeys’ recent Asian Cup campaign, and a prolonged period working with top-of-the-line coaches and in an elite professional environment will undoubtedly help him improve. Should he continue this trajectory, we might see him become the Socceroos’ future gloveman.

The basis of the information throughout this article would not have been possible without the work of Damian Davies.

You can follow Christian Marchetti on Twitter @ChristianM29, or on Instagram @christianmarchetti29.