Luongo 'Aussie Beckham', says Swindon boss

Swindon Town manager Mark Cooper has compared Socceroos star Massimo Luongo to David Beckham and has slapped a minimum £5million price tag on the midfielder.

Luongo heads back to his League One club this week after an exceptional Asian Cup, helping the Socceroos win the tournament as well as being named the overall MVP.

It was a breakout few weeks for the 22-year-old, who scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win over Korea Republic – and he’s now attracting interest from some big clubs in England and around Europe, including Spanish giants Sevilla.

With the transfer window closing in two days in seems like Swindon will hold onto Luongo for now but he appears certain to move on in the summer.

MATCH REPORT: Socceroos victorious in thrilling Asian Cup final

But the League One leaders are set to cash in on the Socceroos new golden-boy, with Cooper confident Luongo is a £5million player.

“If you look at Dele Alli (from MK Dons), what is he? Four or five million? He’s as good a player as him. I don’t think he’d go for any less than that,” Cooper told Link Sport.

“When you play in a global tournament you’re going to get foreign teams interested in you and that’s what has happened to Mass.

“He’s the pin-up boy of Australian football now and I know his peers in the Australian team think highly of him, and that’s the biggest accolade you can get as a footballer. He’s the David Beckham of Australia now, is Mass.”

Luongo is expected to arrive back in Swindon on Thursday and should go right back into the side to play Barnsley on the weekend.

“He’s got to play against Barnsley on Saturday now so I’m sure going from 60-odd thousand people in Sydney to playing at the County Ground, knowing him as he is, won’t bother him,” Cooper said.

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