Special moment as Aussie wonderkid finally makes debut

This one has been a long time coming.

Dylan Leonard finally made his debut for Schalke yesterday, almost nine months after joining the second-tier German club from Western United.

He’s been made to wait due to issues with his registration, followed by a serious ankle injury that was expected to keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.

The 18-year-old showed admirable patience for a player his age, and after returning from injury quicker than expected, he was rewarded with a debut off the bench in Schalke’s 4-1 win over SC Preußen Münster (great name, by the way).

That result, played out in front of more than 60,000 fans - check out the incredible crowd scenes in the video below - took Schalke to within touching distance of promotion back to the Bundesliga, a league that a club of their size feel they belong in.

Leonard is one of several Australians who could be plying their trade in one of Europe’s top five leagues next season, with the likes of Riley McGree and Sammy Silvera at Middlesbrough (more on McGree in our next newsletter item) and Awer Mabil in Spain pushing for promotion to the Premier League and La Liga respectively.

If Leonard can force his way into the starting XI by the time that promotion happens, it would cap a remarkable rise for the teenager who took the A-League by storm last season.

Speaking of 18-year-old former A-League players who have had a rapid rise… let’s not forget that Lucas Herrington just went toe-to-toe with arguably the greatest player of all time, less than six months after leaving Brisbane Roar.

The young defender was impressive for Colorado Rapids against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, but he did cop a harsh lesson as Messi scored two goals, including the match-winner that flew past Herrington.

The Australian’s defensive partner at Colorado, former Arsenal centre-back Rob Holding, had plenty of words for encouragement for the young man.

“I said to Lucas, this 18-year-old lad playing against him (Messi): he’s done that to (Sergio) Ramos, (Virgil) Van Djk, like all these great defenders. That’s what he does. That’s who he is. So don’t beat yourself up about it.

“You’ve played against Messi now and learned from that. So, yeah, we’ll be fine.”

Someone else who will be fine, apparently, is Riley McGree, despite missing Middlesbrough’s most recent game through injury.

Boro boss Kim Hellberg described it as a “small knock” and insists the Socceroo will be back in action this week - here’s hoping he’s right.

Meanwhile, did you know there was an Australian playing in the UEFA Youth final this morning?

That competition is essentially the Under-19s version of the Champions League and Gianluca Okon-Engstler, brother of Sydney FC star Paul Okon-Engstler and son of Socceroos assistant coach Paul Okon, was in the thick of the decider.

Playing for Club Brugge against Real Madrid, Okon-Engstler played the full game as the final went to extra time and then penalties, with Madrid emerging victorious 4-2 in the shootout.

His older brother also came through the youth system at Club Brugge, the Belgian side where their father played in the 1990s. It will be interesting to see if Gianluca remains in Europe or follows his brother’s path into the A-League.

Loving our newsletter?

Help more people get the football news they need to know by forwarding this email to your football-loving (or just football-curious) friends and family.

Or better yet, send them here to sign up.

Ryan Fraser’s time in Western Sydney might end almost as quickly as it began - and the destination could make it even more painful for Wanderers fans.

According to reports, the former Scotland international is set to agree terms with Sydney FC after scoring four goals and producing three assists in just 11 games for the Wanderers. He has been one of the few bright spots in a season that will end with Western Sydney collecting the wooden spoon for the first time in club history.

Fraser only arrived from Southampton in January and immediately looked a class above, scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner on debut and giving Wanderers fans something to actually get excited about.

But with Sydney FC looking for more attacking quality, and the Wanderers about to undergo a major rebuild under Ufuk Talay, it increasingly feels like Fraser could be one of the first big names out the door.

The news caps a miserable few days for the Wanderers, in which they not only confirmed their bottom-placed finish on the A-League ladder but were also forced to deal with the fallout from a fake letter claiming they had breached the salary cap.

Michelle Heyman has delivered a pretty blunt message to the people running the A-League Women: sort Canberra United out, or players will start leaving.

The Matildas striker says the uncertainty around Canberra’s future cannot continue much longer, warning that “people are toying with our careers” as players still wait to find out what the club will look like next season, and who will be running it.

Canberra’s long-term future remains unclear despite the team charging into the finals, where they will play an elimination final against Melbourne Victory this weekend.

Heyman wants to stay. Canberra is her club, the place where she became a legend, broke records and built a career that includes Matildas call-ups, golden boots and two Julie Dolan Medals.

But even someone as loyal as her has a limit.

“For me, as a group, as a player, we’re not going to be waiting around like last year,” Heyman said yesterday. “This is our profession, our careers that people are toying with at the moment.

“So if we don’t know by the end of our next game, Canberra might not even have players to come back to.

“If the A-Leagues really don’t want us, I assume players will have to walk because it’s our career path and we have to continue to play football, and that would be somewhere else then.”

Read all of what Heyman had to say via the link below.

It’s just blown full-time in this morning’s Premier League clash between Crystal Palace and West Ham, with the game ending at 0-0.

That point earned by the Hammers could prove crucial in deciding who goes down to the Championship next season, with West Ham now two points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who are in the last relegation spot.

This morning’s game was hardly a classic but Nuno Espirito Santo will hardly care - it’s all about survival for him and his team at this stage, and more performances like this one might just help them earn it.

Over in Italy, Lecce and Fiorentina played out a 1-1 draw this morning that leaves Lecce stuck in the Serie A relegation zone.

And here’s a fun fact: the goalscorer for Fiorentina, on-loan Englishman Jack Harrison, has spent more time on loan in his career than he has playing for his parent clubs.