Rhys Youlley is a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for Sydney FC in the A-League. Youlley spent time with Western Sydney and Macarthur before transferring to Belgian side Westerlo. He played fairly regularly for their reserves but struggled for first-team football, prompting a return to the A-League. Since his return, he has shown that he may deserve a second kick at the can in Europe.
Youlley is listed at 6’0″ (1.84 m) with a slim build. He is primarily a defensive midfielder, playing in a double pivot in Sydney’s 4-2-3-1. Youlley is an extremely strong ball winner. He is quick, which allows him to cover a lot of ground and close players down. He is a very good tackler, frequently winning the ball back cleanly from attackers. His strong defensive awareness and positioning also lead to a lot of interceptions.
Youlley also has some strengths on the ball. He is a well-above-average passer. He consistently breaks the first line of the opposition press with medium 15-20 yard passes. He occasionally pulls off the odd long-range pass. He isn’t quite as consistent at long-range passes, but he pulled off enough of them that I believe this is a skill he could develop further. Youlley does a little bit of carrying, pushing the ball forward well when he has space. However, when he has to actually dribble against someone, he tends to run into trouble. Youlley also gets a decent number of shots for a primarily defensive midfielder. He is good at making late runs to the edge of the box, which results in reasonably dangerous chances.
Youlley is an extremely strong ball winner and above-average passer at the A-League level. He also provides some supplementary final 3rd impact. Considering his age, I would say this makes him a strong candidate to take a step up. The fact that he didn’t break through in Belgium might scare some times off (it shouldn’t in my opinion, as he is still really young), so he might need to go to a slightly lower level than that first.
Target Scouting 