Brisbane Roar chief executive officer Kaz Patafta believes the days of overseas teams signing young Australian talents for small transfer fees will soon be over, thanks to a pivot in club strategy.
A-Leagues clubs have received more than $38million in transfer revenue over the course of the last two seasons as clubs from the UK, Europe and the United States now routinely look to the Isuzu UTE A-League to secure affordable young talent.
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Last season’s total ranks second in terms of total outbound transfers after the Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 season saw clubs receive $21.9m from 27 sales.
Crucially, though the average sale price increased from $813k to $826k this year, with Patafta identifying a key reason as to why fees are now on the way up as more and more young talent continues to get a chance in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
“It was only in recent times that young players were only on one-year deals,” said Patafta when speaking on the Row Z FC podcast.
“Now Adelaide have done it. We’ve done it, and most clubs now are moving into the multi-year deals for young players to lock them in, because there is a market.
“I think we’ll see that segment grow exponentially. The valuations are still pretty low, I’d say, in terms of the players that we’re selling.
“That’s why there’s a lot of interest because, you know, for Championship teams, for teams out of MLS, we’re such an attractive market.”
He continued: “As soon as they have a Championship name behind them, you’re almost looking at a five to 10 times multiple to what we’re selling them for here.
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“There’s almost an arbitrage opportunity for clubs, and they see that.
“But also we’ve got the talent. We adapt well in Europe, it’s fantastic. So for us as an A-League club, it’s a serious part of our business.”
Among those to have left Australia in 2025 was Brisbane Roar’s talented young forward Thomas Waddingham.
Aged just 19 at the time, Waddingham led the line for Brisbane with distinction, establishing himself as the Isuzu UTE A-League’s second-highest scoring teenager of all-time behind Adelaide’s Nestory Irankunda with 11 goals before then being snapped up by Pompey for an undisclosed fee.
According to Patafta, the Waddingham deal is a prime example of what happens when Isuzu UTE A-League clubs identify the young talent within their ranks and, crucially, tie them down to long-term contracts.
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“I think when you’ve actually gone through the process of recognising the talent in the youth set-up, meeting the parents, understanding the family, understanding the ambition of the player and having sort of been in his shoes a decade ago, understanding the vision and what he’s trying to achieve,” he said.
“Then actually seeing it come to light, I think there’s so much reward in that, not only for myself, but for the club.
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“For the fans to see him now – I think he’s scored four in pre-season for Portsmouth – it’s just such a rewarding feeling.
“We’ve got a little sell-on (clause) in there!
He went on to say: “There’s always all sorts of of things that get in the way and there’s all sorts of negotiations.
“But the reality is there’s a lot of interest now in the A-League and there’s a lot of interest in the young players we’ve got.
“We’ve got great talent in this country and I think it’s such a great platform, but, you know, there has to be a bit of a philosophy and intent from a club, whether it’s Brisbane or otherwise, to give these younger players a chance.”
