Socceroos head coach Tony Popovic has said that MLS provides his players with a “good stepping stone” for their careers after Kye Rowles became the latest Australian to land in the U.S. top flight.
Rowles, 26, completed his move to North America last week, signing with D.C. United on a two-year deal with an option for a further season after leaving Scottish side Hearts.
The center-back joins Nashville SC’s Patrick Yazbek as current Socceroos plying their trade in MLS, with Australian under-23 internationals Jake Girdwood-Reich (St. Louis City), Lachlan Brook (Real Salt Lake), and Giuseppe Bovalina (Vancouver Whitecaps) also Stateside.
MLS franchises, meanwhile, are increasingly showing a willingness to invest in Australian talent: Rowles’ move netted Hearts a reported £600,000, while Girdwood-Reich’s transfer secured Sydney FC a record fee. Macarthur FC’s Ariath Piol is also reportedly on the verge of moving to Real Salt Lake on a deal worth at least US$500,000.
Ranked as the ninth-best league in football by Opta Power Rankings released last October, Popovic said the level of professionalism in the American top flight augured well for Australians looking to improve.
“It’s a good league, it’s a good, solid league,” said Popovic. “There’s a lot invested into that league, the resources they have, the crowds, the stadiums. They’re very professional off the field, which you’d expect with the Americans in sport.
“The players going there, it’s a good stepping stone, I believe.
“Kye is an example, he played in Scotland, he played 25 to 30 matches in basically six months, he’s very durable, and he gets a good move now to the States.
“Is that a step up? You could argue, from the Scottish League, or where he is at Hearts, maybe there are more resources [in MLS] in terms of the league, in terms of [D.C. United] itself; what their expectations or what their goals are.
“We’re happy for him, he’s very happy about the move; he’s very comfortable with it. It’ll be interesting to see the level that he’s performing at once, he starts.”
The importance of Rowles finding form in his new home was heightened for Australia late last month when Harry Souttar suffered an Achilles tendon injury that will rule him out for up to a year, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the Socceroos’ back-line.
Having only just found form and regular minutes on loan at Sheffield United after being frozen out at Leicester City, Souttar’s injury, as well as the ongoing absence of Parma’s Alessandro Circati with an ACL tear, will significantly test the Socceroos’ defensive depth, with crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia in Sydney and then away to China coming in March.
“Like for like, you don’t replace a Harry,” Popovic said. “His attributes would be unique to what we have at the moment. We don’t have many players or any players like Harry. Maybe Cam [Burgess] is similar to Harry. So we need to find a player that gives us that stability in the middle of that back three, that can do what Harry was doing.
“That can be more of a technical player, can be a physical player. So it just depends on the strengths that we have around that player in terms of what we can add in that position. We’re a little bit open-minded in who that could be or how that looks.”
Meanwhile, another of the Socceroos’ defensive pillars in Mathew Ryan appears set to find much-needed minutes this January transfer window, with L’Equipe reporting that the 32-year-old goalkeeper was on the verge of moving from AS Roma to Ligue 1 side Lens as a replacement for Brice Samba.
“I think it’s still quite ongoing, and it’s all been happening in the last three or four days,” Popovic said of Ryan’s move. “But obviously, he’s going there with a view of getting more minutes. That’s his belief.”
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