JETS enforcer Ljubo Milicevic will choose between Newcastle, Melbourne Heart and Asia when he sits down to determine his future in the next fortnight.
Milicevic and Iraq international Ali Abbas are the Jets' primary retention targets.
Like Milicevic, Abbas also hopes to finalise where he will be playing next season before the A-League grand final.
Milicevic, 29, has reinvented himself since joining the Jets a year ago, but the lure of returning to his home town, near family and friends, is also attractive.
"I put contract talks to the side to concentrate on the finals," Milicevic said yesterday.
"Now we are out I'll sit down and talk things over with my family.
"There has been interest from the Melbourne Heart and China is also an option. I'm not sure if Asia is the right place for me at the moment. Those are the things I have to work out.
"I have enjoyed it at Newcastle.
"I'll talk to the club over the next week or so and then decide if I want to stay or if my future lies elsewhere."
In another contract development, crowd favourite Song Jin-hyung flies out today for Korea en route to France for a series of trials with first-division clubs.
The 20-year-old playmaker will spend a fortnight in France before returning to Newcastle to pack up his belongings.
"I think I am ready for the next step," Song said.
"My agents have organised the trials. I'm not sure which clubs but they are in the first division.
"I'll find out more when I get back to Korea."
Song's plan was always to spend two years in Australia to learn a different style of football and adapt to western lifestyle in preparation for a move to Europe.
"I have learned to speak English and have adapted to playing in Australia," he said.
"I have won a championship, played in the Asian Champions League and have become a better player.
"It is a shame we lost on Sunday. I was not happy with my game. I was a bit flat and tired [from the virus]. I wanted to do more."
If unsuccessful in his pursuit of a European move, Song's preference is to re-sign with the Jets.
"I'm confident of getting a contract in France but if things aren't progressing I want to come back to Australia," he said.
"Plan B is to play again for the Newcastle Jets."
The Jets are all but resigned to losing Song, but they are desperate to keep Milicevic and Abbas.
After a volatile start to his time in Newcastle, which included run-ins with coaching staff and teammates who he controversially said needed to "harden the f--- up", Milicevic is now considered leadership material.
The former Socceroo was given a lifeline by the Jets after a bitter and public split from Melbourne Victory, where he had fallen out with coach Ernie Merrick and captain Kevin Muscat.
He has been linked to a return to the Victorian capital since the Heart were granted a licence for next season and his signature would be a coup for the start-up club who have already lured Jets captain Matt Thompson and promising winger Jason Hoffman south.
Abbas was signed mid-season from Marconi as an injury replacement for Shaun Ontong.
Gold Coast have also shown an interest in the 24-year-old but unless he has a concrete offer in the next fortnight he will return to Baghdad.
"I have a couple of options but nothing firm," Abbas said.
"If I don't get a contract in the next 15 days I will have to go back to Iraq. I can't afford to stay. Hopefully we can sort something out with the Jets. I like the club and want to stay."
Abbas's eye-catching performances in the latter part of the season have also attracted the attention of the Iraq national team set-up.
"They have contacted me and told me I'm in their plans for the Asian Cup in January."
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