By Marco Monteverde

Copyright news

Leonard’s Schalke deal is until June 30, 2030, with the 18-year-old centre-back keen to put the drama surrounding United’s future behind him and focus on cementing a first-team place at the German second division outfit.

“It’s clear they want me to be a part of their project, which was part of the reason why I chose Schalke, because I did have a lot of opportunities in England and elsewhere, but Schalke was quite clearly going to be the right one for me,” he said.

“It’s not easy to leave behind my family, my mates, my girlfriend, but it’s a footballing decision.

“When the opportunity came about, it was quite clear that I had to do it. I’m loving it.”

Leonard hoped other players who had been contracted to United before becoming free agents after the financially embattled Victorian club was excluded from the 2025-26 A-League competition could also secure their immediate futures.

“Seeing the situation a lot of them are in has been really difficult for me,” he said.

“My situation’s different because I had other opportunities because of my age and my situation, but for some of the other boys that are top players, they’re going to find it hard to find a club because all of the clubs have signed their players and have used all their money.

“It’s really devastating to see all that happen. A lot of my best mates are boys from Western United and they’re professional footballers, but they might never play professional football again.”

Some other former United players – including Angus Thurgate (Western Sydney), Matthew Grimaldi (Melbourne Victory), Tomoki Imai (Machida Zelvia, Japan), Abel Walatee (Sydney FC) and Charbel Shamoon (Perth Glory) – have also already found new clubs.

However, many are still free agents searching for a new team to play for.

“Hopefully Western United gets reinstated to the A-League in a year’s time and that can bring back opportunities for all the boys that don’t find an A-League club,” said Leonard, whose most recent game was also United’s final match, at least for now, a 1-0 Australia Cup loss to Sydney FC on July 29.

“My next step is to get match fit, learn as much as I can, adjust to the lifestyle over here and adjust to the training and the way we want to play, and then hopefully everything goes well and I can be playing pretty soon.”

Schalke director of football Youri Mulder said Leonard had taken a “big step at a very young age”.

“This proves just how ambitious Dylan is in pursuing his goals,” Mulder said.