Waddingham on radar of Asian, European clubs - Zadkovich

Praising both his play and character, Brisbane Roar interim coach Ruben Zadkovich has said the form of 19-year-old striker Thomas Waddingham is attracting interest from overseas clubs.

Brisbane Roar interim coach Ruben Zadkovich says that teenage “old school, proper number nine” Thomas Waddingham is attracting interest from clubs across Asia and Europe. 

After breaking out during their run to the Australia Cup final before the season began, Waddingham was thrust into the responsibility of leading the Roar’s line at the start of what has become a tumultuous campaign, logging six goals and an assist across his 22 appearances, 18 of which have come as a starter.  

The Cairns-born attacker, who turned 19 earlier this month, leads the Roar in goals from open play and expected goals (xG), and trails only Bayern Munich-bound sensation Nestory Irankunda’s eight for goals by teenagers across the entire league. 

Beyond earning him the sobriquet “Erling” from veteran teammates Tom Aldred and John O’Shea, it’s form that earned him national team recognition via a call-up to Tony Vidmar’s Olyroos squad for the WAFF U23 Championships in March. And now, per Zadkovich, it’s brought him under the gaze of suitors both foreign and domestic – having previously trialled with English side Blackpool before he’d logged a single A-League Men minute. 

“There's also a lot of interest in Tommy Waddinhgam,” said Zadkovich. “We've had a lot of conversations and a lot of talks about clubs potentially looking to buy Tommy. 

“We don't make players like Tommy Waddingham anymore, that old school, proper number nine. He's got so many areas he can improve on and grow. And I think he's a massive asset to the club.

“There's been interest [from] everywhere, to be honest. There's been interest within Australia, there's been interest through Asia. There's been some big interest through Europe, which is great. 

“We know that we've got an asset, we know that we've got a fantastic young player. And we'll keep working on developing him and bringing him to the top of the pile.”

The A-League Men has experienced something of a surge in outbound transfer, and the revenue associated with them, as of late, with Irankunda’s move to Bayern following on from an offseason in which Melbourne City’s Jordy Bos and Marco Tilio both set an outbound record for fees and the likes of Calem Nieuwenhof, Samuel Silvera, and Kusini Yengi all found new homes.

Given their rarity, to say nothing of the importance of scoring goals, strikers are highly-valued prizes on the international transfer market – Manchester United paid £64 million to secure 20-year-old Denmark international Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta based largely on potential – Zadkovich knows the kind of asset that his young striker could represent.  

After he missed a training session during the week with what was described as a “niggle” in his back, the coach managed Waddingham in Roar’s 0-0 draw with Melbourne Victory on Saturday evening, bringing him on in the 59th minute as part of an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to turn their siege of their ten-man opponents’ penalty area into goals. 

“Tommy's contracted to us for next season,” said the interim coach. “He's a massive piece of the puzzle and we know that we've got a really, really good asset there. 

“Tonight was all about managing him and making sure that we're not sending him out there [unprepared]. He had a little niggle with his back and missed a session during the week, so we've got to keep him in cotton wool. His loads are really high. 

“He's done fantastically well. Even when he came on tonight he was a big threat against [Roderick] Miranda and [Damian] De Silva, [against] proper defenders, guys that are above the level, foreign defenders that are the glue of that Melbourne Victory backline. He's come on and he's put himself about and he was dangerous again.”