Adelaide United midfielder George Mells and Sydney City defender George Timotheou have this week both participated in the Young Socceroos training camp on the NSW Central Coast. The camp is the first of three for the squad of 23 chosen by Young Socceroos head coach Paul Okon, held in preparation for two upcoming international tournaments.

The ASEAN Football Federation Championships (AFF U19) are to be staged in September by host nation Vietnam, and will be followed by the 2016 AFC U19 Championships in Bahrain which also serve as qualifiers for the FIFA U20 World Cup.

The 19-year-old Mells is no stranger to national representative honours. A product of the Chelsea and Southampton Youth system since the age of 12, he first attracted a national team’s attention while in England, receiving a call-up to train and play with the Greek U17 national team, for whom he made a single appearance in 2014. Mells is eligible to play for Greece by virtue of the Greek heritage of both of his Australian-born parents.

However, in the year following his appearance in the Greek national youth team, the Melbourne-born Mells left the Southampton Youth set up to return to Australia to make his professional debut in the A-League, with Adelaide United in 2015 under then Adelaide coach Josep Gombau, who is now in charge of the Australian U23 team.

Having subsequently made regular senior appearances (25) with Adelaide United, Mells’ stated ambition is to establish himself as a first team player at the champions, and then to win selection in the Socceroos.

Speaking to Four Four Two recently, he said, “I’m in no rush to be honest, if it happens this season or the one after, it’s no rush because if it’s going to come, then it’s going to come”.

“The most important thing for me is to develop as a professional, to really make my mark in the league and start putting in good performances. You need a rough idea of where you want to end up and the Socceroos is where I want to end up 100 per cent.”

Eighteen-year-old Canberra-born central defender George Timotheou received a call up after a successful season with Sydney FC NYL team. The young left footer has caught the eye of selectors with his impressive range of passing and solid defensive displays for the Sydney FC NYL side. A self-confessed admirer of Germany’s rock solid central defender Jerome Boateng, Timotheou is aiming to break through into the Sydney FC senior team.