Western Sydney Wanderers central midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof has been rewarded for a sensational start to the 2022/23 Isuzu UTE A-League season, earning the October/November nomination for Young Footballer of the Year.
Nieuwenhof, 21, has revelled in his crosstown move from Sydney FC to Wanderland, starting in all six games of the new campaign under Western Sydney head coach Marko Rudan.
Alongside Romain Amalfitano in the centre of the park, Nieuwenhof has featured in all but five minutes of the Wanderers’ campaign thus far. This comes after three seasons in Sky Blue which garnered just five starts in total.
Across October and November Nieuwenhof started in one defeat to Central Coast, a draw with Brisbane Roar and wins over Perth Glory, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC, the last of which coming in a hostile Sydney Derby at the home of his former side Allianz Stadium.
Nieuwenhof leads the league in tackles (28) over the first six rounds of the season, and sits third in ball recoveries (58) behind only Western United’s Neil Kilkenny and Sydney FC’s Luke Brattan. Positioning and willingness to get on the ball and bring control to the Wanderers midfield are key features of Nieuwenhof’s game, who is excelling at his new club – on a scholarship contract, no less.
