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Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold insists he won’t be held to ransom by agents demanding big money for their clients and would rather give youth a chance than sign the wrong player.
Arnold and his backroom team have been in constant contact with agents from around the world as the Sky Blues search for replacements for Ali Abbas and Corey Gameiro.
The pair have undergone surgery for serious knee injuries and Arnold is desperate to inject some much-needed pace in his side after the duo were ruled out for the remainder of the season.
However, the former Socceroos coach said he won’t bring in players from overseas just for the sake of it and he’ll promote up and comers from the youth team if he cannot sign the type of player he wants.
“The agents can smell some money and are emailing me non-stop, often at three of four in the morning,” Arnold said.
“They are offering me opportunities to bring players out. But I only want to bring in players that will strengthen the starting XI.
“I want competition for places as we have lost two starting members of our side. We need depth, but I am not going to bring someone out here just to sit on the bench or only put depth in the squad.”
“I want to bring in quality but if I can’t I would rather give Australian kids an opportunity.”
The transfer window for Australian clubs opens on January 6 but A-League teams can still work within the European timeframe which gets underway on New Year’s Day before rubber-stamping any contracts.
Speculation will no doubt intensify that Tim Cahill, who appears out of favour at New York, will come back to Sydney post the Asian Cup but given the limitations a guest stint of up to 10 weeks may be the only option at this stage.
A-League salary cap stipulations only allow teams to offer new signings the same contract as the injured player they are replacing and the new man must play in the same position.
Arnold admitted it does make the task more difficult, but remains confident he can bring in the quality he needs as the pair are two of the better-paid members of his squad.
“Fortunately for us Ali and Corey are on decent money. They are not minimum wage players which would have made it tough,” he said.
“We’re looking for players that are playing for countries who aren’t getting paid (highly) and that will make it easier for us.”
Sydney will be boosted by the return of star striker Marc Janko and defender Sebastian Ryall for Saturday’s clash with free-scoring Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.
Austrian international skipper Janko missed the 2-1 loss to Perth last Thursday due to a groin strain and Ryall was suspended after picking up five yellow cards.
“We know we are going to have to be very strong,” Arnold said.
“We’ve analysed them this week and hopefully I can expose a few of the weaknesses I’ve seen. It will be about sticking to the gameplan and being ready for the fight.”
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