After recent transfer interest in captain Ruben Zadkovich subsided, another of the Newcastle Jets key players is being chased by European clubs.
After recent transfer interest in captain Ruben Zadkovich subsided another of the Newcastle Jets key players is being chased by European clubs.
The UK press have reported that Josh Brillante has begun to attract interest from the likes of Serie A club Lazio, Bundesliga side Schalke and former home of Tim Cahill, Everton, in the English Premier League.
It has been a busy off-season for Brillante who was one of the stars for the Young Socceroos at the U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
His performances caught the eye of Socceroos coach Holger Osieck who brought him into his squad for the EAFF East Asian Cup.
“Holger told me that he watched me at the Under 20 World Cup and said that I did pretty well," said Brillante.
“He told me that I was going in the right direction and to keep working hard at my game.
“It was definitely a confidence boost to hear that and to also have made the jump up from the U-20 squad to the senior level is amazing.”
Brillante went on to feature in the Socceroos final match of the tournament that saw them go down 4-3 to China.
Responding to the speculation, Jets CEO Robbie Middleby released a statement this afternoon saying that the Club had received no formal offer for the services of Brillante, who remains under contract at Newcastle until the end of the 2014/15 season.
“Josh is a talented young player with a bright future and he-s shown that with his performances in recent months,” Middleby said.
“He did extremely well for the Young Socceroos at the Under 20 World Cup and earned a well-deserved call-up to the senior Socceroos- squad for the East Asian Cup.
“At this stage we haven-t received any formal offers for Josh and he remains a Jets player.”
Brillante's dual Australian-Italian citizenship will ensure that if a deal is done between his A-League club and a European suitor he will have no issues attaining a work permit.