City could buy Oz club

Foreign takeovers of English clubs are taking place all the time.   However, it now appears that an Australian club, Western Sydney Wanderers, could be taken over by a Premier League club with Manchester City being one club mentioned.   However, there is also interest from inside Australia.

Foreign takeovers of English clubs are taking place all the time.   However, it now appears that an Australian club, Western Sydney Wanderers, could be taken over by a Premier League club with Manchester City being one club mentioned.   However, there is also interest from inside Australia.

The club was only founded in 2012, but came first in the A-league last season.  It is currently owned by the Football Federation of Australia.   Its catchment area is made up of the sprawling but well populated Western Suburbs of Sydney.   Its stadium has a capacity of 20,000 and membership sales have been going well.

At $A15m it is a snip compared with what one could pay for an English club.   Its losses of $A1.5m are small by English standards and it may break even in the coming year.

One has to ask what would be the incentive for an English club to buy a club in Australia?  A note of caution is necessary.   This story could simply be an attempt to stir up interest in Australia and to encourage local investors to prevent a club going to the Poms just after they have held on to the Ashes.

For a big club with a large squad loaning younger players out to Australia could give them first team competitive experience they can’t get at home and thus aid their professional development.  As the Financial Times recently pointed out, top clubs are full of promising younger players who never get near the first team.