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Five most expensive Australian footballers of all time: Harry Souttar heads the list

For a long time, Aaron Mooy had been the most expensive Australian player following his £10m move from Huddersfield Town to Manchester City in 2017, but Harry Souttar's £15m switch from Stoke City to Leicester City in the 2022-23 season set a new mark.

Here is an up-to-date list of the five most expensive footballers to hail from Australia.

5. Mat Ryan - £6m (Club Brugge to Valencia 2015-16)

After a string of superb performances in Belgium with Club Brugge, where he made 77 appearances, goalkeeper Mat Ryan was snapped up by La Liga outfit Valencia.

Ryan had been on the radar of Liverpool, but it was Valencia who got their man as they sought a first-choice replacement for regular starter Diego Alves, who had been ruled out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

However, a terrible injury of his own meant Ryan was restricted to only 10 appearances for the Spanish side, before he returned to Belgium for a loan spell with Genk.

Since then, though, Ryan has established himself as a top class goalkeeper with spells at Brighton, Arsenal, Real Sociedad, FC Copenhagen, AZ Alkmaar and Roma highlighting his progress.

4. Brad Smith - £6m (Liverpool to Bournemouth 2016-17)

It didn’t go as expected for Liverpool academy graduate Brad Smith, who looked to have the world at his feet following his move to Bournemouth.

The full-back made his Premier League debut for the Cherries on November 27, 2016 against Arsenal, playing 81 minutes, but he found himself having only limited opportunities with Charlie Daniels preferred in his position.

Smith went on to make only five Premier League appearances for the Cherries before being sent out on loan to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS and Cardiff City in the Championship.

Now 30, Smith has spent time permanently with Seattle, DC United and Houston Dynamo, although now finds himself without a club following that stint in the States.

3. Mark Viduka - £8m (Celtic to Leeds 2000-01)

Despite having been out of the game for 15 years, Mark Viduka still finds himself as the third most expensive player in Australian history following his £8m move from Celtic to Leeds United in the 2000-01 season.

Viduka started his career in Australia with the Melbourne Knights before moving to Dinamo Zagreb on his path to Celtic.

With 202 goals in 491 appearances at club level, Viduka was one of the most prolific forwards of his generation and after four seasons at Leeds, he went on to enjoy more success with Middlesbrough and Newcastle United. 

Nowadays, a player of Viduka’s ability would be going for a lot more money in the transfer market.

2. Aaron Mooy - £10m (Man City to Huddersfield 2017-18)

A successful spell at Melbourne City sparked interest from Manchester City, with both clubs owned by the City Football Group, although Aaron Mooy never went on to make a first-team appearance at the Etihad.

Mooy did go out on loan to Huddersfield Town and he was an integral part in their promotion from the Championship in 2016-17, with the Terriers extremely keen to make him a permanent addition in the Premier League.

Huddersfield splashed out £10m to get their midfield maverick and he spent two full seasons in the top-flight there before their relegation.

On the back of that, Mooy played for Brighton, Shanghai SIPG and Celtic before announcing his retirement from professional football in June 2023.

1. Harry Souttar - £15m (Stoke to Leicester 2022-23)

Harry Souttar is a Scottish-born central defender, but his mother was born in Port Hedland, Western Australia, which makes him eligible to represent Australia.

At 6ft 7in, Souttar is the tallest outfield player to have represented the senior Australia national team and it was his exploits at the 2022 FIFA World Cup which earned him a £15m move from Stoke to Leicester.

However, the 26-year-old found himself out of favour at the King Power Stadium and he has spent this season on loan with Sheffield United, with the Blades in the thick of the Championship title race.

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