Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis wants to stay at the club despite apparently signing a contract with Parma, according to coach Frank Farina.
Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis wants to stay at the club despite apparently signing a contract with Parma, according to coach Frank Farina.
The Young Socceroos captain, 19, was believed to be on his way to Serie A, only for a quad injury to rule him out of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and put the move in doubt.
Antonis, who will not travel to Italy with Sydney for a pre-season camp, now wants to stay in Australia, but his legal situation remains unclear.
“That’s still a bit of a curved one. He supposedly has a signed contract with Parma but he wants to stay now,” Farina told The Daily Telegraph.
“Can he get out of it, or can he not? At the moment I’m not 100 per cent sure.
“The kid wants to stay, and I always said I thought he should. He was captain of the U-20s and going to Parma, the world was his oyster.
“All of a sudden he tears a quad, he’s a way off (being fit) and no-one from Parma has rung him.”
The Sky Blues will play six matches in Italy – against Serie A, Serie B and Serie C sides – and will depart on Friday.
Along with Antonis, forward Blake Powell will miss the trip and could require minor surgery on a knee injury.
Sydney’s gruelling tour will see them play six matches in 15 days and train twice a day before returning home on August 24.
“I’m really happy with the matches we’ve secured,” Farina said.
“This tour will give us a great opportunity to put into practice the changes we are making to our style of play while taking on good opposition in hot conditions similar to what we will experience during the season.
“We will also be training twice a day to make sure we come back from the tour ready to enter the final phase of pre season leading up to the start of the A-League.
“We’ve also managed to organise a good cross section of games against opposition of varying quality so every member of the squad will be able to take part in matches where they will be tested.”
