Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz has been linked to winning the job at Wellington Phoenix

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz is a strong candidate to lead Wellington Phoenix, but can the A-League club afford him?

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz during the Reds 1-0 win over Central Coast on Sunday. (AAP Image/Paul Barkley)

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ADELAIDE United coach Marco Kurz looks likely to leave Australia but not the A-League.

And one of his five-star coaching staff has been offered a gig at a new rival club.

Before Adelaide United hosts Wellington at Hindmarsh on Sunday, Kurz has emerged as a candidate to take over the Phoenix from revered rookie A-League coach and ex-Reds stopper Mark Rudan.

But he won’t come cheap. Kurz is understood to be making moves to leave Australia after Adelaide announced his two-year contract would not be renewed beyond June.

Wellington Phoenix coach Mark Rudan shakes hands with Adelaide United’s captain Isaias in a 0-0 draw at Coopers Stadium in January. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

Kurz last week revealed he is fielding coaching offers, while Melbourne City boss Warren Joyce has, according to sources, also been touted as a potential boss of Phoenix.

In an extraordinary scenario, Rudan could be staring across the bench at Hindmarsh towards one of his new assistants and a head coach who might be in his ‘Nix spot next season.

Kurz’s revered No. 2 coach, former Croatian international Filip Tapalovic, is also expected to join the German on the way out of the country.

And as Adelaide prepares for what is potentially its last chance to secure a home playoff in its clash against Phoenix, another Reds assistant — ex-Socceroo and current goalkeeping coach Frank Juric — has been tabled an A-League offer where Rudan could be his new boss.

Juric, 45, has been courted by new club Western United before the Reds host the Phoenix, who currently sit three points above Adelaide.

Juric was the goalkeeper coach at Melbourne Knights and Perth Glory before joining Adelaide three months after Kurz started his Reds gig in June 2017.

However, it’s believed that Juric will consider staying in Adelaide.

Only last week Joyce, 54, was linked to a return to Old Trafford to work alongside new Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

However, the usually affable Englishman snarled at Fox Sports’ Daniel Garb when he asked the question following City’s 3-0 loss to Western Sydney away on Saturday.

“If you want me to talk on camera … that's rubbish. I’m going,” Joyce told Fox Sports before walking away.

Former Adelaide coach and ex-Brisbane Roar assistant Ross Aloisi is also on the Phoenix short-list. The founding Wellington captain appeals to club chiefs after he was offered a Phoenix assistant’s role once the ex-Matildas 2015 FIFA women’s World Cup No. 2 boss retired from playing in 2008.

Former Joeys coaches, now Melbourne City assistant, SA-born Tony Vidmar, plus Yokohama F Marinos assistant Peter Cklamovski, are also believed to be on the Phoenix radar, as well as Arthur Papas, who’s recently joined Ange Postecoglou at the Japanese club.

Cklamovski was also an ex Adelaide fitness coach.