Sydney FC star Marc Janko will fly back to Austria on Tuesday with coach Graham Arnold still in the dark as to whether or not the marquee striker will return to the A-League club.
One thing Arnold could confirm however, was that Janko will miss the Sky Blues’ ANZ Stadium clashes with English Premier League giants Tottenham on May 30 and Chelsea on June 2.
The Austrian skipper is headed home to prepare for his upcoming wedding on June 7 and his national side’s crucial Euro qualifiers in mid June.
Sydney FC tabled a deal almost two moths ago offering Janko $1.4 million to stay on for another season, but this season’s Golden Boot winner is yet to accept.
Arnold and Janko spoke privately for a few minutes upon arrival at Sydney airport on Monday after the the Sky Blues’ devastating grand final defeat to Melbourne Victory.
Janko, who last week said he had made a decision about his future, remained tight-lipped but Arnold insisted he was in no rush for an answer.
“I don’t know if his mind needs to be changed. I don’t know what his decision is,” Arnold said on Monday.
“I just said to him ‘is there any indication?’ and he said ‘no coach’.
“He said he wanted to go home and think about things.
“Sometimes when you get away from the situation and away from the emotion you make a sensible decision.
“So we’ll continue to communicate with him and see where it ends up.
“In the A-League the off season is so long and we have time.”
Janko leads a host of Sydney FC players who are off contract with the likes of Bernie Ibini, Milos Dimitrijevic, Mickael Tavares, Jacques Faty and Shane Smeltz also yet to be secured.
Arnold said he was hopeful of retaining the majority of his squad and insisted he wasn’t concerned rival clubs like Western Sydney, who are in the midst of a major overhaul, would pinch his players.
“No, I’m not worried,” he said.
“Newcastle have got a massive rebuild, the Mariners are rebuilding. Every club rebuilds – that’s the nature of the A-League.
“If I can keep 75 per cent of the squad together I’d be very happy but we also need to strengthen the squad.”
Arnold, who has signed Newcastle’s Andrew Hoole for next season, said the club was likely to announce another player signing in the coming weeks.
He said he would begin recruiting in July.
The squad will now get a week off before preparations begin for the Tottenham and Chelsea encounters.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Sydney FC's Joe Lolley defended Ivan Vujica after the Bull was sent off for a challenge in the first half that had the players…
Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The loser of the Sydney Derby will be under immense pressure entering the final three matches of the season.
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
Phillip Cancar’s rather comical and momentarily delayed dive in the 36th minute of Newcastle Jets 3-1 win over Sydney FC on Sunday was a…
