Leckie had a taste of Germany’s top flight when he made nine appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach after signing from Adelaide United back in 2011.
Then followed a spell with second tier Frankfurt VFB before he joined fairytale club Ingolstadt and helped Die Schanzer to a historic promotion to the top flight this season.
Both Leckie and his team are making a mark in the early rounds of the season, with Ingolstadt in eighth position with 11 points from seven games, and Leckie’s dash and dare putting defenders on the back foot is earning him plenty of new admirers.
Leckie is looking to take his Bundesliga form on international duty next week, when Australia travels to Amman to face Jordan in its FIFA World Cup qualifier.
“I think that coming up against some of the top defenders around at last year’s World Cup, I am feeling quite comfortable now with the level of the Bundesliga and what's expected,” said Leckie.
“When you first come into this competition you can be a bit tense and nervous and too keen to prove yourself.
"But I am feeling at ease and don’t feel I have much to worry about and just go out and perform.
Leckie, 24, has started every match, scoring one goal so far, and remains a pivotal player for his club, as he does for his country amid preparations for next Friday’s (AEST) tricky trip to Amman – the scene of a shock 2-1 World Cup loss just over three years ago under the reign of Holger Osieck.
There are only four survivors in Postecoglou’s squad from that chastening experience at the King Abdullah International Stadium – Tim Cahill, Mathew Spiranovic, Matt McKay and Jason Davidson – and Leckie sees it as a definite danger game.
“They are our closest rivals in the group and I’ve talked to some of the boys who played there before and they said the atmosphere was intimidating and it’s a really hard place to go,” he added.
With Jordan two points adrift of group leader Australia after three games, Leckie said: “We will go there and try and impose our possession-based style we’ve developed under Ange and play our way.
“We seem to be getting better and stronger as a team with each camp together and that’s showing in the results (with group wins over Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Tajikistan). So the signs are really promising.”
Leckie’s eye-catching form is bringing him to the attenion of some potentially significant suitors and while he is under contract with Ingolstadt until mid-2017, he also wants to scale new peaks during his career.
“I am very happy at the club and was fortunate enough to be a part of the team which came up last year ... but every player wants to go as high as they can in their career and I am no different," he said.
“If something where to come up at the end of the year, then who knows.
"But I am not thinking about that … I am just enjoying my football and the club is trying to make sure it doesn’t get carried away and keeps performing.”
