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Herald Sun (Australia)/Grantley Bernard - Nick Ward set to extend Melbourne stay
MELBOURNE Victory is about to re-sign attacking midfielder Nick Ward for the next A-League season.
Committed to Victory for the first phase of the Asian Champions League after signing a short-term deal in December, the former Perth Glory and Queens Park Rangers man is poised to sign for another 12 months, perhaps as early as next week.
Despite carrying a lingering groin problem, Ward impressed in his five A-League games for Victory, quickly earning the respect of teammates and the admiration of fans.
"At the moment I'm in discussions with the club and talking about a contract," Ward said yesterday.
"Hopefully we can come to an agreement. I'm leaning towards another year here."
Re-signing Ward, who is also aiming to make the Australian team for the Olympic Games in August, would be a major achievement for Victory as it tries to make a quick return to the A-League finals after finishing fifth this season.
"We've made no secret of the fact we're hoping to keep Nick," Victory football operations manager Gary Cole said. "He likes the club, the club likes him, so we've got our fingers crossed we can do something."
Returning to Europe to play is still high on Ward's agenda, but so is making sure his suspect groin is in good shape to allow him to perform at his best.
"At the moment with the injury, it might do me good having another season here," Ward said. "I've been very happy with the club and Melbourne and I really enjoy it.".. Herald Sun
The Age - Stathi Paxinos and Michael LynchSTEFFAN MOORE
"..... Meanwhile, [Victory football operations chief Gary] Cole and the Victory coaching staff plan to run the rule over triallists before deciding to offer a new player a contract.
Stefan Moore, the former English Premier League striker who arrived for a two-week trial, has flown back to the UK. Cole says the Victory will not rush into any deals to strengthen the squad.
"The board have asked us to keep trying players on trial before making a decision," Cole said yesterday.
"We are certainly going to look at one or two more visa (foreign) players. Stefan was a nice bloke and a thorough professional and one of the quickest players we have had through. He did a pretty good job, scored a couple of goals, but we have got until the end of July to make a decision.
"We have got that time on our hands and we intend to use it. We have had a good conversation with Stefan and he has impressed us and he has got a couple of other offers in the UK."
Cole was optimistic that if Victory felt that ex-Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers forward Moore was the right man for the job, the club could do a deal.
"If we decided he was the right one, we could come to terms on an agreement with him," Cole said. The Age