A chance meeting inside a Melbourne Cup marquee has opened the possibility of Harry Kewell joining Perth on a short-term deal.
A chance meeting inside a Melbourne Cup marquee has opened the possibility of Harry Kewell joining Perth on a short-term deal.
Glory owner Tony Sage bumped into the club-less Kewell at Flemington on Tuesday and floated the idea of a guest stint in the A-League.
Kewell has been without a club since parting company with Melbourne Victory last season, a move back to the UK failing to land him a new contract.
The 34-year-old wants to play again but, with Glory’s books full, Sage said his club would need financial assistance from FFA if a deal was to be struck.
“I met him (Kewell) yesterday. It was just a chance meeting and it was not planned and I asked him what his future was,” Sage told Perth radio station 6PR on Wednesday.
“He said he was looking for a club. Our list is full at the moment, so that is the only small impediment.
“But I’m sure the FFA may do something given the concessions they gave to Emile Heskey and (Alessandro) Del Piero.”
Sage revealed Kewell was more interested in playing than earning money and would be happy to sign a modest, short-term deal.
The former Socceroos star is desperate to represent his country again, eyeing a third World Cup appearance in 2014.
Sage said: “Money’s not an issue. He said at this time of his career he’s made a lot of money out of football and the money issue won’t be a problem.
“The comment to me exactly was ‘Tony I’m interested in playing football, I want to play for Australia again and the only way I’m going to do it is to play’.”
Asked on Wednesday if Kewell still had a future at international level, Australia coach Holger Osieck responded: “First of all he has to play and then we’ll see.
“Right now it is pure speculation. As long as I don’t have facts on the table, I don’t want to comment further.”
Kewell plans to meet Glory coach Ian Ferguson and chief executive Paul Kelly in Perth on Thursday.
