Marcus Younis – Australia’s Rising Star by Jake McGhee
Introduction:
Recently Australian football has seen a batch of serious talent coming through the ranks, Garang Kuol, Nestory Irankunda, and Calem Nieuwenhof are among some of the most highly sought after prospects coming out from down under. But a new talent seems to be making his mark on the game and has all the traits to become a real star for both the Socceroos and abroad in a big league.
Currently playing his football for the Western Sydney Wanderers second team Marcus Younis is lighting up every single pitch he steps onto, full of flair and tricks the 17 year old winger was affectionately dubbed a “human highlights reel” by a commentator in a recent game and he certainly lives up to that title.
Despite only breaking through recently and playing a small handful of games he has already earned a professional appearance for the Western Sydney Wanderers in a league game against Melbourne City proving that he has earned the trust of his manager.
Playstyle:
As previously mentioned Younis is a natural born entertainer on the football pitch, a breed of footballer which is refreshing to see in today’s game as his expressiveness and creativity both on and off the ball shine through. A skilful and direct right winger Younis thrives in 1-on-1 situations, loving to isolate his man and bypass him with a bit of trickery or using a burst of pace. His versatility in 1- on-1 situations is something I really like about his game, at only 17 he is quite well built with strong legs which allow for rapid bursts of pace and relatively good strength in physical duels. His eagerness to get into these duels is also impressive as he doesn’t shy away from the dirty side of the game and is willing to help contribute defensively.
Despite his forward thinking and positive playstyle in his short cameo against Melbourne City he proved to be a key sub in keeping the defensive door closed making 3 interceptions, 3 recoveries and entering into 5 duels to keep Melbourne at bay during his 13 minutes of playtime.
His ability to operate with his left foot despite playing on the right wing allows for him to cut inside and either open up space for a shot or play a reverse ball to any overlapping fullbacks, as seen in this clip:
His shooting is another big aspect of his game, many tricky wingers like Younis lack end product but this doesn’t seem like a problem the young Aussie faces as he consistently tries the goalkeeper with every shot.
What’s next for Younis?
Now pulling on the Red and Black stripes of WSW for a 6 th consecutive season there’s no doubt Younis loves the club as he has developed incredibly and is rapidly rising to stardom in the city, an incredibly gifted young player who is developing well both physically and mentally within the game he has the blueprints set out to be a top level winger. The creativity and flair he possesses can’t be taught and this only adds to his eye catching profile.
This sort of skill and fearlessness really epitomise the sort of player Younis is and the fans of WSW will be keen to keep him for as long as they can.
Personally I believe he should stay at WSW for another couple of seasons to truly develop himself physically and gain more invaluable professional experience and then when Europe comes knocking as it always seems to do he will have a strong foundation to stand on in picking a club to show off his talent for all of Europe to see. He will feel relatively hard done by not being called up to the Australian U20’s for the upcoming Asian Cup as his performances have certainly merited one but the player will no doubt keep his head down and work hard.
The future is really exciting for Marcus Younis, who looks to be one of the hottest prospects coming through the ranks in Australia right now.