Sports director at Sydney FC
© Imago
On Monday, FC Schalke 04 announced the commitment of the Australian Dylan Leonard. The second division team equipped the 18 -year -old central defender with a contract until 2030. If the former Schalke professional Alexander Baumjohann, sports director at Sydney FC since May 2023, S04 can look forward to a real jewel.
“He is still very young. Nevertheless, he played almost all games for Western United in the 1st league. We also played against him twice, impressed me his maturity, his football quality, his two and communication. Youngster Leonard in a “Waz“-Interview.
Already during the transfer phase in summer, the Gelsenkircheners had tried to serve the talented right foot, but with whose club could not reach an agreement. Since Western United has now been withdrawn due to financial problems and all contracts with players were then terminated, the defender came to Schalke free of charge.
Baumjohann, 47 times for the royal blue on the ball during his professional career, stated: “I am firmly convinced that he will prevail. This is only a matter of time. I know that a lot of clubs were interested in Dylan. The fact that Schalke was able to get him free of charge is a huge coup. Interior.
Baumjohann: Leonard will quickly get used to Schalke
S04 director Youri Mulder recently said: “With Dylan, we commit a very young and talented central defender. We give him the time to get used to Schalke in the coming months. He decided to take a big step at a young age. This shows the ambition with which Dylan pursues his goals.” Ex-professional Baumjohann does not run out of major starting difficulties at Leonard: “He has a great mentality. I think that Australians are somewhat easier to adapt to Europe than, for example, players from South America, Africa or Asia. His mother tongue is English, and that is the training language at Schalke.”
The level of the Australian league is often underestimated, said Baumjohann. “We don’t have to hide from anyone. In every transfer period, players from our league move to Europe, for example to the Championship to England, MLS or Asia.” He cited Connor Metcalfe and Jackson Irvine from FC St. Pauli as examples of direct switching to the Bundesliga. So far, 23 Australians have been used in the German Oberhaus, the record player is Ned Zelic, who was 160 times for Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1860 Munich. The Australian, for which the highest transfer in football flowed, is Harry Suttar – Leicester City transferred 17 million euros to Stoke City for the defender in early 2023.