Melbourne City are “having conversations” with Ninja A-League Golden Boot leader Holly McNamara as interest mounts in the superstar, according to head coach Michael Matricciani.
McNamara – who is out of contract at the end of the campaign – is on the cusp of winning the 2024-25 Golden Boot while unbeaten leaders City look to claim a second successive Premiership on the final weekend of the regular season.
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After recovering from a third anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, the 22-year-old has taken the competition by storm with 14 goals in 16 matches this season, scoring at an incredible rate of 57.4 minutes.
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Heading into Friday night’s clash against Perth Glory, Matricciani was asked about McNamara’s future with the 2026 AFC Women’s Cup looming on Australian soil.
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“We are having conversations,” Matricciani told reporters. “As a club, we would love to keep her. But a player of that quality is going to get interest and she has been getting interest.
“Then it’s going to be up to her to decide, with her agent and family, on what she feels is going to be best for her career because there’s no doubt she is going to kick on and play at a lot higher level.
“Whether she feels that she needs to stay potentially another year, especially with the Asian Cup coming up with the Matildas because there’s that fine line with some players that are on the fringe or are breaking into the Matildas, that you want to keep playing.
“And we have such a strong league here that I think it’s a great platform for our players but financially, you can get bigger salaries in other leagues.
“It’s a difficult situation with some players because they want to play, they want to secure themselves with better deals but it’s that risk if you make that move too early or you get promised things that maybe don’t eventuate and you’re not playing, then it’s obviously going hinder your chances of being in the Matildas setup.
“I think we have a really strong league here in the A-League. Players doing well are going to get opportunities in the Matildas but the flip side is financially, players are going to get offered more in other leagues around the world.”
