THE NEWCASTLE HERALD
By NEIL GOFFET
NEWCASTLE United officials have declared today D-day for the club as they force several players, including priority target Stuart Musialik, to make up their minds about their future at the club or miss out.
Jets chief executive John Tsatsimas said yesterday he had had enough of contract talks and it was time for prospective players to sign on the dotted line or their offers would be withdrawn.
Coach Gary van Egmond feels the same and has demanded answers today from several players involved in talks with the club.
Musialik is the No.1 target, but van Egmond hopes to have definite responses from other prospects Ahmed Elrich the brother of Jets youngster Tarek Elrich and former Sydney FC star Ruben Zadkovic.
The A-League Coach of the Year is also confident he will know the future of midfielder Adam D'Apuzzo after today.
"Tuesday is D-day," Tsatsimas said.
"The coach wants to get all this sorted out so we can start planning for next season. The players are back training next week, and Gary wants to know the make-up of the team. With regard to Stuart Musialik, he will be given until tomorrow [today] or the offer will be withdrawn."
Musialik is believed to be fielding more lucrative offers from Sydney and Melbourne, so the Jets have increased the financial side of their offer in an attempt to keep the key midfielder at the club.
"The deal has been tweaked a little bit," van Egmond said.
"I'll be honest with you and say I'm not sure whether he will play with us or not. I'd love to keep Stuey at the club because he is a quality player, he's got a big future, and he is a Newcastle boy."
Musialik was the only home-grown player in the Jets championship winning side. Striker Mark Bridge was close to being an adopted Novocastrian after scoring the matchwinner in the grand final.
In a blow for the Jets, Bridge confirmed yesterday he had signed a three-year deal to play for Sydney, just eight days after the 22-year-old was the toast of the town.
"We would love to have kept Bridgey," van Egmond said.
"He's a good young man, and he's definitely a talent for the future.
"We lost some of our best players last year, and we're going to have to deal with it again this year, I suppose."
The other player in the Jets' sights is Ryan Griffiths, younger brother of Jets twins Adam and Joel Griffiths.
"To be honest we haven't even looked at Ryan's situation at the moment," van Egmond said.
"He is under contract to a Romanian club that paid $1.3 million euros for him, so they're not going to let him just get up and go.
"We would certainly be extremely interested if he was to become available."
Article source http://theherald.yourguide.com.au/news/sport/soccer/jets-lose-patience-and-declare-dday/1194969.html
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