Long touted as a top prospect for Australian football, Macarthur FC recruit Danny De Silva is hoping his latest A-League Men club can finally give him the platform to reach the international stage.
De Silva burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old in 2013, making his professional debut for Perth Glory, and was part of Ange Postecoglou’s initial longlist of players for the 2015 Asian Cup squad.
Despite that early promise however, De Silva arrives at the Bulls at a crossroads in his career.
Now 24, De Silva has made over 100 A-League appearances but appears to be a long way from Socceroos coach Graham Arnold’s plans with young talent such as Riley McGree and Denis Genreau having emerged as national team regulars in the past 12 months.
Despite that, De Silva hopes Macarthur’s footballing philosophy under Ante Milicic will give him the environment to force his way into Arnold’s plans ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“Any Australian player would want to play for the Socceroos. I’ve had a few tastes and been on a few camps and stuff like that but definitely it’s something that I would love to be able to achieve,” De Silva told AAP.
“The coach (Arnold) obviously is always watching the A-League boys, watching new players, things like that and players that he’s got his eye on.
“If we have a good year, be able to score some goals and make some assists and things like that, hopefully, I’ll be in the mix.”
Having spent time at the Glory, Central Coast and Sydney FC as well as a loan stint in Holland with Roda JC, De Silva is confident he’s found a home at Macarthur.
He debuted for the club in last weekend’s 3-0 FFA Cup win over Newcastle Olympic, playing in an attack-minded midfield lineup that included fellow newcomers Ulises Davila and Craig Noone.
Ahead of Sunday’s A-League Men season opener against Wellington Phoenix at Campbelltown, De Silva says the potential of the Bulls’ squad has him excited about what he and the team can achieve in 2021-22.
“We have great players all around us but definitely in the attacking third,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of good, exciting players and hopefully we’ll be able to show that on the field.
“Once it really clicks it’ll be really exciting time and something good to watch as well.”
