Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond hopes to keep attacker Nathan Burns at the Jets beyond the expiry of his loan deal in January.
Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond hopes to keep attacker Nathan Burns at the Jets beyond the expiry of his loan deal in January.
Burns, on loan from K-League side Incheon United until January 11, scored twice in Newcastle’s 2-1 win over the Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Van Egmond is predictably eager to keep the 25-year-old in Newcastle and said the clubs were in discussion about extending the deal.
“I think he’s an important cog, I won’t deny that,” he told reporters.
“I’d love to see that we could come to some agreement but again we just have to wait and see. We might be talking about something that we can’t really control.
“As much as we’d love to keep him and I know he’d obviously love to stay, we just have to see how that pans out.
“The club are in dialogue with the Korean club and we’ll wait and see what happens.”
Burns regularly got the better of Victory right-back Leigh Broxham, and was on the end of an Adam Taggart pass to score in the first half.
He restored Newcastle’s lead after James Troisi had equalised for the hosts, finding space at the back post before finishing into the bottom corner.
Burns’ goals were his first for the Jets, but van Egmond said the seven-time Australia international had looked threatening throughout the campaign.
“He likes taking players on and in those wide areas – that’s the biggest areas as far as space is concerned,” van Egmond said.
“You need people in those areas that do go past people not just try and pass past people.
“I think he’s been excellent all year and with a bit of luck he would’ve had a number of other goals.
“Today was the day he was able to get some and it’s a testament to perseverance and obviously quality.”
In bad news, Newcastle right-back Scott Neville could be facing a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Van Egmond said Neville ‘felt something click’ before being stretchered off in the first half.
The 24-year-old was wearing a knee brace after the game and is set to have scans to confirm the extent of the damage.
