Sydney FC marquee striker Marc Janko said his agent has fielded offers from Europe but assured the Sky Blues are his focus, adding Graham Arnold’s men are genuine title contenders.
Speaking with reporters at Allianz Stadium on Friday, Janko batted away questions about his future in Sky Blue, saying his focus was only on this season
But the 196-cm, 31-year-old forward and captain of his nation Austria said European offers had being tabled despite describing his most recent stint in Europe as a nightmare.
“I’m open-minded to every kind of directions and the other day my agent called saying there is interest from Europe coming, popping up now.
“So we will see what will be the solution,” he said.
On a one-year marquee deal, Janko has scored eight times in 14 appearances for the Sky Blues.
Preview: Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners
Given he arrived in his own words seriously out of condition, it’s been a successful stint thus far.
After two “horrible” years in Turkey where he barely played at Trabzonspor, the tall striker is just happy to be playing regularly and in a professional environment under Arnold.
Janko’s is relishing Sydney and what he’s seen across the Hyundai A-League, though whether he’ll be part of season 11 is still unclear.
“Pretty impressed,” he said. “The level is quite good. There is not one game when you can say it’s a clear win for us, you have to fight for your points.
“You can see the top teams are only a few points difference
“It took a while to find my rhythm again … and also confidence as a striker lifts from scoring goals, after two years your confidence is suffering.
“At the moment we are working very well all together. The boys know me [now] and the types of balls I like to have but like I say, I’m only as good as the team.
“From my point of view we can compete with the best teams. We are one of the best teams from my point of view and I think we will be in the race for the title.”
Sydney host Central Coast on Saturday afternoon.
After a surge in form over recent weeks, Janko is wary of the opponents as the fifth placed Sky Blues look to keep the pressure on the Hyundai A-League top four against a struggling Mariners in eighth.
“Consistency is the key message for this game. We proved that we can beat them quite high [last time winning 5-1] but they will do everything to recover from that defeat.
“I’m expecting it will be a tough match,” Janko said.
Janko played down an injury which saw him leave the pitch in last week’s epic 3-3 draw with Victory suffering from an irritated tendon in his big toe, made worse by a couple of collision on his foot.
“At the moment we are on a very high level. I’m very happy with the guys, the team is working very well together with a great team spirit, so everything is on track at the moment,” he said.
