Brattan the last piece of the puzzle

One man's loss is another's opportunity and with Mile Jedinak ruled out of Australia's FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Tajikistan, the stage is set for Luke Brattan to seize his opportunity.

Luke Brattan pictured playing for Brisbane Roar last A-League season (Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Brattan's call up comes not a moment too soon, for the Brisbane Roar midfielder, who wants out of the club in order to pursue a move overseas, is a class act.

Ange Postecoglou included Brattan in his extended squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but he wasn't on the plane when the final 23 set off for the tournament.

He also didn't make the cut for the AFC Asian Cup, on home soil, which became Massimo Luongo's breakthrough tournament in green and gold. 

In fact, Brattan hasn't been capped at all by the Socceroos, but he is well worth another look.

After Brisbane's friendly against Liverpool in July, Brendan Rodgers singled out Brattan as "the controlling player in midfield", who caused the Merseysiders "a wee bit of a problem in the first half in terms of when to press them and when not".

Brattan's range of passing is absolutely superb and has been key to Roar's success in the past few seasons. 

He has the intelligence too, and knows exactly when to slow the play down with a short pass, and when to up the tempo in search of the killer ball.

Yes, Australia is well stocked in the centre of midfield.

Mile Jedinak is the skipper, while Luongo or Mark Milligan often plays next to Jedinak, providing extra forward thrust in the engine room. Brattan's Brisbane team-mate, Matt McKay, is one of Postecoglou's most trusted lieutenants.

Oliver Bozanic's left foot offers something different, while the prodigiously talented Mooy, who can play deeper or further forward, and classical playmaker Tom Rogic, add to Postecoglou's list of options, whether the coach wants to play with one deep midfielder or two.

And while they are all good players in their own right, none possesses the same set of characteristics as Brattan.

None of them match his passing range, or are as good at pulling the strings from the No.6 position in midfield.

The widespread excitement when Postecoglou took the national team reins was in the hope Australia would start to play a more possession based style like Postecoglou's Brisbane did, after the functional style of Holger Osieck. 

Brattan could be the final piece of the puzzle.

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