Botić: "I feel like I'm ready" for European test
Noah Botić is almost certainly off to Europe. He’s not sure exactly where yet but he’s confident that regardless of where his journey takes him, he’s ready for what comes next.
Noah Botić is almost certainly off to Europe. He’s not sure exactly where yet — reports have swirled surrounding potential destinations — and he says he’s got several factors to weigh up on that front. But he’s confident that regardless of where his journey takes him, he’s ready for what comes next.
Botić scored what is likely to be his final goal for United in their 1-1 semifinal draw with Melbourne City on Saturday evening, the 3-0 deficit from the first leg proving too much to overcome as they fell to a 4-1 aggregate defeat that ended their campaign.
Out of contract, the 23-year-old has been widely tipped to strike out abroad at the end of the season. And while United had held out a forlorn hope they would be able to convince him to return for one final ride in 2025-26, their coach John Aloisi admitted on Saturday that the striker was all but gone.
"I wish that he would stay but I don't think he's going to stay,” said Aloisi. “I think that he'll go, I think that he'll go overseas. I think his mindset is to go overseas.
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“And I wish him all the best. Hopefully, I cross paths with him again one day.”
Botić has previous experience in Europe, receiving interest from the likes of Manchester United and Everton before moving to Hoffenheim months after starring for the Joeys at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he scored four goals in four games.
But not helped by the descent of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting borders and international travel, Botić struggled to settle during his time at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena and returned to Australia in 2021 when he signed with United.
Now, however, older and wiser, the striker feels he’s ready to make his next go in Europe stick.
“I feel like I'm ready,” he said. It's a decision to make to [make sure the] league is going to be, not a massive step, but a kind of stepping stone.
“I'm not just going to have to strive and want to play in the Premier League or something straight away. Because it's a top league. It's a big step going to Europe, and it's not an easy one.
“So that's another [factor] on my mind, how well I fit into the league, what their style is like, and am I going to do as well there as I did in here, in the A League?”
Concrete details on who is pursuing Botić have proven hard to come by, with Bundesliga side St Pauli, the current home of Socceroos Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe, reported as a potential suitor by German media.
It’s understood that United, pushing for finals and still hopeful they could convince the striker to stay, also rejected a transfer offer from a second-tier Dutch side during the January transfer window.
Botić wouldn’t be drawn on where he would head next, but made clear that his decision would be a highly considered one.
“Nothing's set in stone, concrete,” he said. “Still just options floating around. Got some interest from certain clubs and it's a decision that I’m still making with my agent and my family.
“It's not an easy decision. Obviously, I would have loved to continue with these boys, but that's football. Sometimes you've got to take that next step. Wherever I end up, hopefully it's the right move for me.
“It's about playing style. It's about what you're used to. It's about the coach, how they're going to use you; what he's asking of you. You look at the area as well – how can you adapt to that environment? Especially going to a different country.
“I'm used to it a little bit and I've experienced what Europe is like. There are many more things, but those are the kind of ones just off the top of my head.”
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Botić’s goal against United made it 27 in his career in Melbourne’s west and saw him supplant Besart Berisha as the all-time leading scorer in the club’s young history.
After making just three appearances in his first year, he became more and more integrated into Aloisi's first team with each successive season, scoring his first goal against Adelaide in 2022-23.
In 2024-25, despite barely completing a preseason due to injury, he netted a career-best 16 goals across the regular season and finals to go along with six assists, vaulting him into the frame for Socceroos selection.
And as he reflected on the journey he’d been on with the club, emotion began seeping into his voice.
“It's the first team they gave me my [senior] debut,” he said. “It was a rocky start with the first sort of year and a bit, but that's football. I hadn't played any professional football when I came here.
“At the time, I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to play, but looking back on it now, I'm glad [Aloisi and assistant Hayden Foxe] gradually built me up and [didn’t] throw me in the deep end. I built up my body to a point where I feel like I'm able to manage in certain situations.
“The club itself, my first professional club. I've made a lot of friends and family here, they meant a lot to me. Four years is a long time, but it goes really quickly.
“In the moment, I try not to take things for granted, because it goes like that in the blink of an eye. It's going to be emotional if I do end up leaving the club.”