When Tomi Juric departed Adelaide United in July to sign for Macarthur FC, the general consensus amongst the Australian football community was that Carl Veart would be on the look out for a striker to replace him.
And when Al Hassan Toure followed him to the Bulls late in the transfer window, a replacement striker seemed inevitable.
However the Reds instead decided to put their faith in 22-year-old Kusini Yengi to lead the line all on his own and he says he’s up for the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to it, it’s what I wanted since I came to the club,” Yengi told Kick360.
“I’m ready to work hard for the team and hopefully provide them with a lot of goals that can help us win games and ultimately win us the championship.”
Yengi enjoyed a breakout season last campaign, scoring four goals in just seven A-League starts, including a memorable goal at Marvel Stadium against Melbourne Victory, where his Conor McGregor-esque goal celebration made him an instant cult-hero amongst the Reds faithful.
His campaign however followed a similar theme to much of his career to date, as it was hampered by injuries.
Yengi was appreciated by Adelaide’s staff long before he burst onto the scene however persistent injuries seemed to stammer his start, now though he believes he’s found his fitness formula.
“I think my body has been growing quite quickly over the last couple of years and I think that probably has resulted in some of the injuries I’ve had,” Yengi said.
“But now I’m kind of settling down and I’m starting to gain control of my body and doing a lot of work in the gym to make sure I don’t get injured.”
With the aforementioned departures of Toure and Juric, the Reds would be severely lacking up front if Yengi were to be struck down.
Ben Halloran had to be used as a makeshift striker in the FFA Cup against Floreat Athena when Yengi was struggling with a hamstring injury, but he’s not feeling intimidated by Adelaide’s lack of depth.
“I don’t feel any pressure to stay fit but I want to look after my body and hopefully play every game this season,” Yengi said.
“We’ve brought in some new (fitness) staff and there’s a lot better management of our loads and stuff like that, we’re working more on individual people’s weaknesses to help them and prevent them from getting injured.”
That was at the request of Carl Veart after injuries to various key players forced Adelaide to have an inconsistent 2020/21 season.
The Reds will also miss the attacking output of full-back Ryan Strain, after his move to Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
Yengi was subject to interest from a number of European clubs, namely in Poland, and admits a move was on the cards but he is now fully focused on continuing his journey with his hometown club.
“For sure I want to go to Europe one day, there was interest but that didn’t end up happening, but now I’m in Adelaide and I’m dedicated and looking forward to this season with Adelaide,” Yengi said.
With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, Yengi revealed that there has been some discussion between his agent and the club about extending his deal but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
One Yengi did get a European move this off-season though, his younger brother Tete made the step from Newcastle Jets to Ipswich Town.
“Tete is doing really well over there, he’s scored a few goals (in the Under 23’s) and he scored last game as well,” Yengi said.
“He’s a fantastic player but he just didn’t really get his opportunity at Newcastle to play as much and got an injury at the end of the season that kept him out for quite a while.”
”But luckily enough he got that opportunity through an agent that was helping him out and now he’s taken it with open arms and he’s doing really well.”
Yengi’s Reds start their season on Saturday night against Perth Glory, a chance for the boyhood Chelsea fan to come up against a player he looked up to growing up – Daniel Sturridge.
“Obviously it would be really cool cause I grew up watching him, I’m not a Liverpool fan but I admire what he has done in his career and he’s a great player so I can’t wait for the challenge and hopefully he does play.”
Image Supplied: Adelaide United
