Studs Up with David Davutovic: The A-League players coming off contract

MELBOURNE Victory’s Gui Finkler is one of the many stars coming off contract at the end of the season as David Davutovic looks at who might be on the market.

MELBOURNE Victory star Gui Finkler headlines a star bunch of players coming off contract at the end of the season.

More than 100 players were on an official list of uncontracted players that was released to clubs last month, with Western Sydney, Melbourne City, Sydney FC and Perth Glory topping the list with 14 players apiece.

The Wanderers officially have the most now after former Central Coast keeper Liam Reddy was signed in recent days for the next six months.

The Wanderers’ high number is due to coach Tony Popovic’s latest overhaul, akin to signing most of his inaugural squad to short-term deals, and it wouldn’t be surprising if a chunk of his squad were poached yet again in this salary cap environment (Youssouf Hersi and Aaron Mooy were among those who moved direct to rival clubs).

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And underlining that Football Federation Australia is giving no assurances beyond 2016 to Wellington Phoenix, their entire 24-man roster was named on the uncontracted list.

However coach Ernie Merrick has stitched up most of the squad for next season, and these players have not been included in the top 10.

Sydney FC left-back Alex Gersbach, 18, and Brisbane Roar attacker Brandon Borrello, 20, have shown flashes of their enormous potential this season, ensuring their signatures are the most sought-after of the young crop.

Fellow Australian youth internationals James Donachie (Brisbane), Connor Chapman (Melbourne City) and Chris Naumoff (Sydney FC) will also attract strong interest.

While visa spots are restricted to five per squad, it won’t stop clubs from poaching internationals from rival clubs.

Finkler’s class makes him a target for several of Victory’s rivals and making him more appealing is the fact that he becomes an Australian citizen in 2017.

Dutchman Romeo Castelen headlines an impressive batch of foreigners off contract at the Wanderers, including the rapidly improving Spanish trio Dimas, Andreu and Alberto.

Recent Socceroos call up Josh Risdon (Perth Glory), Olyroo Stefan Mauk (Melbourne City) and David Carney (Jets) are looking to pursue careers abroad.

Star Phoenix attackers Roy Krishna and Michael McGlinchey are yet to be re-signed beyond 2016.

With a dearth of keepers available, the likes of Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets) and Vedran Janjetovic (Sydney FC) have strong currency.

Veterans Alex Brosque (Sydney FC) and Michael Thwaite (Perth Glory) will attract interest.

TOP 10 PLAYERS OFF CONTRACT AT THE END OF THE SEASON

1 Gui Finkler (Melbourne Victory)

Attacker, 30

The Brazilian set-piece specialist has taken his game to another level in his fourth season at Victory.

2 Romeo Castelen (Western Sydney)

Winger, 32

Capped 10 times by Holland, the winger destroyed Victory last Saturday with his speed and trickery.

3 Alex Gersbach (Sydney FC)

Left-back, 18

The attacking left-back is the hottest young property in the A-League is in demand and getting better with every game.

4 Brandon Borrello (Brisbane Roar)

Forward, 20

Borrello is still only on a youth contract but the speedy striker, who’s tipped to be a future Soccero by John

5 Kosta Barbarouses (Melbourne Victory)

Winger, 25

The Kiwi scores and provides and his amazing durability will be vital for Victory during a busy few months.

6 Josh Risdon (Perth Glory)

Right-back, 23

Don’t let his laid back demeanour fool you, the energetic Risdon is desperate for more after winning his first Socceroos cap.

7 Roy Krishna (Wellington Phoenix)

Forward, 28

The Fijian has assumed the mantle as Wellington’s most dangerous forward from Nathan Burns, netting five already this season.

8 Alex Brosque (SydneyFC)

Forward, 32

The dangerous and versatile left-footer remains Sydney FC’s key attacking weapon.

9 James Donachie (Brisbane Roar)

Defender, 22

Struggled to win his first XI spot back at Brisbane after overcoming injury, but the Olyroos stopper has a big future.

10 Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets)

Keeper, 24

Overcome a horror injury and as he edges closer to 100 games, Birighitti will be in demand with few no.1 keepers coming out of contract.

CLUB BY CLUB

ADELAIDE UNITED (12)

Mate Dugandzic

Jordan Elsey

Craig Goodwin

James Jeggo

Bruce Kamau

Dylan McGowan

George Mells

Mark Ochieng

Pablo Sanchez

Dylan Smith

John Solari

Benjamin Warland

BRISBANE ROAR (12)

Brandon Borrello

Daniel Bowles

Devante Clut

Henrique

James Donachie

Javier Hervas

Jack Hingert

Steven Lustica

Jade North

Jean Carlos Solorzano

Shane Stefanutto

Jamie Young

CENTRAL COAST (5)

Josh Bingham

Daniel Heffernan

Jake McGing

Matthew Sim

Tomislav Uskok

MELBOURNE CITY (14)

James Brown

Connor Chapman

Jack Clisby

Wade Dekker

Aaron Hughes

Patrick Kisnorbo

Robert Koren

Marc Marino

Stefan Mauk

Jacob Melling

Paulo Retre

Jason Trifiro

David Williams

Michael Zullo

MELBOURNE VICTORY (9)

Nicholas Ansell

Kosta Barbarouses

Leigh Broxham

Matthieu Delpierre

Guilherme Finkler

Giancarlo Gallifuoco

Jesse Makarounas

Dylan Murnane

Archie Thompson

NEWCASTLE JETS (11)

Enver Alivodic

Joshua Barresi

Mark Birighitti

David Carney

Jason Hoffman

Lachlan Jackson

Ben Kantarovski

Brandon Lundy

Leonardo Santiago

Milos Trifunovic

Cameron Watson

PERTH GLORY (14)

Diogos Ferreira

Diego Castro

Ante Covic

Guyon Fernandez

Richard Garcia

Hagi Gligor

Alex Grant

Chris Harold

Mitch Oxborrow

Josh Risdon

Sidnei Sciola

Jordan Thurtell

Michael Thwaite

Marc Warren

SYDNEY FC (14)

Ali Abbas

Zach Anderson

Anthony Bouzanis

Alex Brosque

Jacques Faty

Alex Gersbach

Vedran Janjetovic

Alex Mullen

Christopher Naumoff

Ivan Necevski

Matthew Simon

Robert Stambolziev

Jacob Tratt

Riley Woodcock

WELLINGTON PHOENIX (24)

#NOTE: FFA has included the entire Phoenix squad, despite some contracted beyond 2016.

Kwabena Appiah-Kubi

Roly Bonevacia

Troy Danaskos

Thomas Doyle

Andrew Durante

Louis Fenton

Dylan Fox

Justin Gulley

Lewis Italiano

Roy Krishna

Vince Lia

James McGarry

Michael McGlinchey

Glen Moss

Manny Muscat

Blake Powell

Matthew Ridenton

Albert Riera

Alejandro Rodriguez

Logan Rogerson

Alex Rufer

Oliver Sail

Jeffrey Sarpong

Ben Sigmund

WESTERN SYDNEY (15)

Alberto Aguilar

Daniel Alessi

Dean Bouzanis

Romeo Castelen

Shannon Cole

Shayne D’Cunha

Dimas Delgado

Alusine Fofanah

Andreu Mayoral

Golgol Mebrahtu

Federico Piovaccari

Liam Reddy

Brendon Santalab

Jaushua Sotirio

Originally published as Studs Up with David Davutovic: The A-League players coming off contract