Back in the early noughties, Leeds United’s squad had a similar connection to Australia as it currently does with Wales. Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell were the faces of it.
Kewell was brought over to Leeds at just 15, joining the academy in 1993 before making his debut three years later. The winger, now seen as a villain, would go on to play a total of 242 times for the Whites.
He left Leeds in 2003 for Liverpool, a move that annoyed supporters. But now-Hanoi FC manager Kewell angered Leeds fans and became an enemy when he opted to leave Liverpool and join Galatasaray.
Viduka, meanwhile, joined Leeds in the summer of 2020 during a £50m spending spree that season under David O’Leary and remains an Elland Road legend, having left the club four years later after relegation.
Midfielder Jacob Burns and goalkeeper Danny Milosevic were also part of the Leeds squad in the early noughties, with Burns playing just 27 league games over three years and Milosevic not actually playing.
Photo credit should read TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty ImagesLeeds almost added another Australian for £8m in 2001
Robbie Fowler was the last big investment made by Leeds in November 2001. Failure to qualify for the Champions League, a second season running, saw Leeds’ gamble result in administration and bankruptcy.
Fowler cost Leeds £12m, a fee Nigel Martyn believes was too much. Leeds wanted another after Fowler, however, and tried to bring in Steve McManaman from Real Madrid. He wasn’t the only winger linked.
Indeed, The Independent reports towards the end of November 2001, not long after Fowler had signed and with transfer windows not yet enforced, that Brett Emerton was on the verge of a move to Leeds.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Another Australian superstar, Emerton, had a hand in 28 goals in 122 games for Feyenoord. That form tempted Leeds into an £8m deal, but it never got over the line, and he remained in the Netherlands.
Photo by Stewart Kendall/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty ImagesBrett Emerton wouldn’t reach the Premier League until 2003
Just over 18 months later, Emerton would eventually move to the Premier League. Not to Elland Road, with Leeds at that time struggling to cope with the demands of more than £80m of debt owed.
He would join Blackburn, and go on to play just six games shy of 300 times for the Lancashire club. He was a reliable, inventive winger who had a hand in 53 goals during his 294 appearances for Blackburn.
In hindsight, had Leeds not been facing financial constraints, the signing of Emerton would have been a good deal for O’Leary’s men. But reality hit, O’Leary left in 2002, and Leeds are still recovering now.