Melbourne City are rumoured to have their first signing of the 2020/21 season in the works, with former Sydney FC youth-product Marco Tilio linked with the club.
The 19-year-old has already announced his departure from Sydney via Instagram but has been careful not to give away any compromising clues.
Whilst a source is yet to be identified (or even linked), Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend's exchange with a supporter in the comments of the above Tweet provides a little more weight behind the rumour.
The diminutive winger, noted by Steve Corica as particularly strong at progressing the ball, spent five years within the Sky Blues’ youth setup, most notably stealing the spotlight in his club’s undefeated, Y-League Champions side in 2019/20 by winning the Golden Boot with 11 goals in nine appearances.
This form earned the teenager an unforgettable late debut against Central Coast Mariners in Round 20 last season, with Tilio scoring and assisting to seal the game within the space of his six-minute cameo.
Tilio featured twice more from late-game substitute appearances, but his momentum was halted by the league’s postponement thanks to COVID-19, and the winger hasn’t featured in a gameday squad since the return to play.
Whilst he made all his A-League appearances on the left, Tilio spent most of his time on the right during the 2019/20 Y-League season. In the NSW NPL1 season that preceded this, he scored five times from 16 appearances.
Tilio has also achieved success at the international level, recently representing the Australian U18s side in the 2019 AFF Cup. The winger was unstoppable on debut, securing himself a hattrick whilst also providing the killer assist for Australia’s only other goal on the night. Extended highlights from the game are featured below, with Tilio wearing #17.
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