Jordan Bos is a 20-year-old Australian Left-Back who plays for Melbourne City. Bos, who is a graduate of City’s academy, made the jump to first-team football last season but has really broken through as a regular starter this year. Bos has made one appearance off the bench for the Australian national team in a recent friendly against Ecuador but did not play for Australia at any youth level. Widely hailed as one of the A-League’s most exciting prospects, Bos has recently been tipped for a move up in the City football group hierarchy, with Manchester City reportedly interested in bringing him to the U.K.
Bos is a very technically gifted player who fits naturally in Melbourne City’s dominant possession-based style. He is very sure with the ball at his feet and capable of retaining the ball under pressure. In the buildup phase, Bos often sits narrower than you would expect from a fullback and almost acts like a deep-lying playmaker in the left half space. He only moves out to the touchline when the winger in front of him inverts. As a result, he does not make a lot of gut-busting runs or put in that many crosses. He is very much a cog in the Melbourne City machine. But that is not to say that he doesn’t offer anything going forward. When he does get into wide areas in the final 3rd he can be quite effective. He has 5 assists this season and it’s because he is very good at picking his spots in the final 3rd. He might not be high and wide often but when he is he is usually isolated against an opposing fullback and he has the dribbling ability to put that player on skates. His strong passing also helps with his attacking. Although he is a left-footed player he does have a fondness for cutting inside onto his right foot and shooting. All of this suggests to me that he could play a more traditional direct wing-back role if he were required to. But that’s not what Melbourne City needs from him.
Defensively, Bos is solid. He is quite athletic and capable of covering a lot of ground and making recovery runs. He is 5’11 and quite strong in the air. He is a competent enough 1v1 defender. He is not an unbeatable wall but you can rely on him to not get exploited by opposing wingers. Sometimes he seems to have some difficulty tracking runners. Again, nothing that stands out as a critical weakness, but an area of his game where he has room to improve.
Bos is clearly a good player that will likely outgrow the A-League soon. But I’m not sure he has Manchester City-level potential. This should not be seen as a slight against him, only very elite players make it to one of the world’s super clubs. Presumably, he would be loaned out somewhere in Europe first (maybe the Eredivisie since he has Dutch citizenship) but he is 20. This still leaves a player a lot of time to grow but, I suspect, not enough time to make the jump from the A-League to one of the best teams in the world. This isn’t even due to any particular weakness. It’s just that he’s not quite at the ultra-elite prospect level. But I still think he could have a very successful career in Europe, perhaps even in a top-5 league.