NAB Young Footballer of the Year nominee – Sarpreet Singh (Wellington Phoenix)
He has not yet played 40 top-flight games but Sarpeet Singh has already put himself among the likes of Keisuke Honda and Milos Ninkovic in the Hyundai A-League's play-making elite.
That’s why the New Zealand prodigy is a worthy nomination – one of six – for the NAB Young Footballer of the Year award, after his superb season for Wellington Phoenix.
NAB Young Footballer of the Year: Lachlan Wales (Melbourne City)
NAB Young Footballer of the Year: Chris Ikonomidis (Perth Glory)
NAB Young Footballer of the Year: Thomas Deng (Melbourne Victory)
NAB Young Footballer of the Year: Riley McGree (Melbourne City)
NAB Young Footballer of the Year: Keanu Baccus (Western Sydney Wanderers)
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR NAB YOUNG FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR
Singh's campaign in Opta stats
Story of the Season
After a stop-start opening to the campaign, it did not take long for Singh to earn himself a crucial role in Mark Rudan’s Phoenix revolution.
Rudan hailed Singh as a ‘little gem’ back in December after the 20-year-old’s mesmeric display in Phoenix’s 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar.
That display was arguably one of the finest individual performances of the campaign – one that prompted Fox Sports pundit Mark Bosnich to proclaim the Kiwi sensation ‘the best player in the A-League right now’.
Brisbane – like so much of Singh's opposition this year – simply could not contend with the Auckland-born attacker’s wizardry. But Singh has not just been a flat-track bully on his road to Hyundai A-League stardom.
In a sign of the trust Rudan has placed in his young maestro, Singh has a full set of three 90-minute performances against Melbourne Victory to his name, coupled with two full matches against Perth Glory too.
Why he is a good shout to be NAB Young Footballer of the Year
Singh has contributed seven assists this campaign – more than Melbourne Victory marquee Keisuke Honda, Sydney FC star Milos Ninkovic and ex-Brisbane Roar man Eric Bautheac, while he’s also chipped in with five goals.
He has not only been a reliable and eye-catching creative outlet for the Phoenix, but has backed this up with the sort of end product a far more seasoned professional would be proud of.
Singh has created 41 chances this term – the same amount as Victory's James Troisi. On the back of his sensational 2018/19, there is plenty of evidence to suggest Singh can one day develop into the calibre of player he has matched and outranked in stats charts this term.
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