Phoenix teenager Liberato Cacace is dreaming of following Sarpreet Singh’s footsteps to Europe after he scored his second goal for the club on the weekend.
The fullback’s strike helped the Phoenix to a nine-game unbeaten run, with his teammates agreeing that he appears destined for bigger things.
The former St Pats pupil may only be 19, but he has already made 44 A-League appearances for Wellington and has three All Whites caps to his name
That's creating a lot of noise, with plenty of speculation that Cacace may soon follow in the footsteps of former teammate Singh, who's now playing with German giants Bayern Munich.
"It's always been my dream to play overseas, but I'm here at the moment, we're in the top six and I want to stay there," Cacace said. "I have an agent for a reason, and I just leave it up to him. I just focus on what I can do."
What he's doing is clearly working, as one of the league's best attacking fullbacks.
Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic is among those singing his praises.
"As long as you have that drive to improve yourself and a little bit of talent like Libby does, he'll go far," Marinovic said. "But it's important he just keeps on the route he's going and looking to improve every day."
That shouldn't be difficult under Ufuk Talay, the rookie coach who's keeping the whole squad firmly grounded.
“He keeps saying we haven't achieved anything this year, and he's right. We're in the top 6 and we want to stay there,” Cacace said.
If Cacace plays his part, then the chances of him sticking around next season look increasingly slim.
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