‘You’re good enough’: This 17-year-old Aussie is staking his claim at Manchester United

Australia’s first tilt at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in over a decade kicks off this weekend – and for the players taking part, the opportunity of a lifetime beckons.

One good performance in front of scouts and football directors from the world’s biggest clubs could be enough to change the trajectory of their careers.

For right-back James Overy – the youngest member of Australia’s 21-man squad, who is already at one of the world’s biggest clubs – it’s a potential shortcut to first-team football.

An eye-catching cameo for Perth Glory in a friendly against West Ham United two years ago, when he was just 15, put him on the radar of Manchester United. Last year, he joined their academy, and was rated by the Guardian as one of the world’s top 60 talents from his age group – alongside the heady company of Barcelona ace Lamine Yamal and new Real Madrid signing Franco Mastantuono.

Though his first eight months at United were beset by injury, Overy has clearly shown something: two months ago, he signed his first professional contract, and towards the end of last season, he was extended an invitation from manager Ruben Amorim to join United’s first-team training as they prepared for the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Having committed to play for Australia after a brief flirtation earlier this year with Scotland’s under-19s set-up, the World Cup in Chile is the best chance that Overy, now 17, will get for the forseeable to catch the eye of Amorim and his coaching staff and push his case for further consideration.

Young Socceroos prospect James Overy.Credit: Getty Images

“You can’t do yourself harm by playing well,” said Young Socceroos coach Trevor Morgan. “For sure there’s players missing – Lamine Yamal’s not going to be here – but there’s still going to be some very, very high-level talent of his age group, and two years older than him.

“If he can show who he is, it’s going to certainly mean that when he goes back to his club, they’re looking to give him opportunities because I think they want to help his pathway be an upward trajectory all the time.”

It’s a long way from United’s academy to the Premier League, but there are plenty of young teenagers playing first-team football at top clubs these days, and there’s absolutely no reason why Overy can’t be one of them. And though Amorim does not play with traditional full-backs, Overy is a winger who has been converted into a fullback, making him a potentially ideal fit for his system.

“His daily training environment is a very, very high level,” Morgan said. “If he plays to the level we see … he’s a bit advanced of other boys his own age in terms of the exposure he gets, but he’s still here to learn things. He’s still going to be challenged. He’s still going to have to make good decisions against some of the best young players in the world. So it’s really exciting to see how each of them copes with it.

“He’s energetic. He wants to get forward. He wants to compete. He’s quite clever. He likes to combine with people … he’s got a great physique, he’s strong. And the way they coach at Manchester United, he’s doing certain movements or taking up positions and options that very easily fit into this squad.”

The Young Socceroos play their first match on Monday (6am) against Italy, then face their other Group B opponents Cuba and Argentina before the end of next week. This is their first appearance at the tournament since 2013; the national high-water mark remains the back-to-back fourth-placed finishes in 1991 and 1993 under the legendary Les Schleinflug.

Expectations are high, since these are mostly the same players who knocked off Japan en route to a rare international trophy at the U-20 Asian Cup earlier this year, doing so in superb style - but they are also realistic, given the calibre of opponents they’ll face, and the fact that many of them have not been exposed to this kind of level before.

Loading

Morgan wants them to continue playing on the front foot, and to have the belief that they can win any match they’re involved in.

“We have done some work about their self-confidence, their personal goals, their personal strengths and knowing who they are,” he said.

“The messaging from us is going to be: you’re good enough. And you will find a solution, and you will cope with it, and you will be challenged. You will find some days hard. You’ll find that a mistake you make might hurt you.

“But at the end of the day, the message here is about being resilient, about overcoming challenges, about... that’s the life in sport, right? You could see it as a daunting challenge. I see it as an opportunity for the boys to show where they’re at in that journey and coping with it. ‘Am I ready for something bigger?’”

Most Viewed in Sport

Loading