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May 2 2019 - 8:00PM
A-League | Newcastle Jets set to bolster their squad with value-for-money imports
ROBERT DILLON
Local Sport
ORGANISED: Jets coach Ernie Merrick is well advanced with his plans for next season. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
NEWCASTLE Jets are likely kick off next season with two vacant positions on their squad, allowing coach Ernie Merrick to keep his options open.
A-League clubs are permitted to sign rosters of up to 23 players, but Merrick said he would be content to start the 2019-20 campaign with 21, preferring quality rather than quantity.
"There's two reasons," Merrick told the Newcastle Herald. "One is the transfer window in January.
"It's always good to have a player to come in then.
"The other is you never know if there is another youngster that is going to come through, whether we've got them now in the academy or the youth team, or whether we're going to discover another young NPL player."
After missing out on the finals this season, Newcastle parted company with marquee midfielder Ronny Vargas and fellow South American Jair, along with proven first-teams Daniel Georgievski and Nick Cowburn, as well as fringe players Kwabena Appiah and Jake Adelson to be released.
The future of Irish target man Roy O'Donovan, the club's top scorer over the past two seasons, remains unclear.
The Jets have made O'Donovan an offer to stay and Merrick said they were still awaiting a decision.
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The coach felt Newcastle already had the makings of a "very competitive squad" that he would look to supplement with another striker, either a foreign import or an Australian.
"We're in the hunt for a striker ... I'd be looking for someone preferably who's between 25 and 30, who's got a little bit of experience and is very technical and clever on the ball and quick," he said. "Then they can either central, or wide."
Merrick joked that "every team in the world" was looking for players with such attributes but was confident he could spot a diamond in the rough.
He signed little-known South Americans Fred and Carlos Hernandez during his time at Melbourne Victory, and recruited Roy Krishna and Sarpreet Singh for Wellington Phoenix before either had made their A-League debuts.
During his National Soccer League days with Sunshine George Cross, he signed a young right back from South Melbourne named Damian Mori and converted him into a striker.
Mori proceeded to become the most prolific goalscorer in NSL history.
"It just shows that if they've got the right capacities - they're brave and they're quick and they're coachable - it's amazing what you can find," he said.
"You never know where the players are going to come from.
"Just don't restrict yourself. They don't have to be overseas players."
Merrick was confident youngsters Joey Champness, Angus Thurgate and Lachlan Jackson could step up to become first-team regulars next season.
The Jets will start their off-season break on Friday week and return on July 1.