FIRST it was Matt Thompson, now the Newcastle Jets could face an uphill battle to retain influential defender Ljubo Milicevic.
Thompson confirmed yesterday that he would be joining new A-League club Melbourne Heart on a three-year deal at the end of the A-League season.
Milicevic is one of eight Jets off contract and has been strongly linked to the start-up club.
Speculation over his future heightened yesterday after it was revealed that former Socceroo Josip Skoko was poised to sign with the club in waiting.
Milicevic and Skoko are close friends and the Jets defender had raised the prospect of joining the veteran at Croatian heavyweights Hajduk Split this year.
Now that Skoko is keen to return to Australia, they could team up in their home town.
Heart operations manager John Didulica would not be drawn into speculation about which players they had targeted.
"We have tried not to discuss individual players [in the media] until they have been signed and the players are comfortable with that being released," he said.
"We have written to every club and indicated we intended to speak to several players.
"Ljubo could be one of 50 or 60 players in theory we could have spoken with.
"We are not inclined to discuss hypotheticals because it would not be fair to Ljubo, who has a job to do in Newcastle."
Jets coach Branko Culina said he was aware that some of his players had been approached by the Heart.
"There is probably four or five other names from our club whose names have been bandied around," he said.
"All we know is that Matty, as suspected, is one."
Milicevic has resurrected his career at the Jets after a disastrous stint at Melbourne Victory.
Culina has played a major part in that process and regards the 28-year-old as a key component of the team.
"It is no secret that Ljubo and I have a good relationship," he said. "Ljubo has quite clearly demonstrated that when his mind is on the job and he is focused that he is a very, very good player.
"It is fair to say that when the arrangement was made with Ljubo to join the club it was good for the club because they got a quality player who probably had a bit of a turbulent time. But they got him at a good price.
"It was also good for Ljubo because no one at the time was prepared to take a punt on him apart from Con. It worked out to be a decent arrangement for both parties.
"What we want to do is continue that arrangement where Ljubo gets the opportunity to continue and gets a fair reward, and we get a decent player as well."
One of only four remaining foundation players, Thompson had initially been keen to stay in Newcastle but yesterday admitted he was looking forward to a fresh start.
"It is a new challenge for me and I can't wait to head there with [partner] Leslie and start a new life in a new place," he said.
"But that is not until next year. I have four months to go with Newcastle and I'm determined to do the best I can.
"I love the place and want to finish on a high."
Didulica said Thompson was one of the first players coach John van't Schip had identified.
"We needed players who were technically excellent, players who were also physically in good condition durable and resilient and players who worked hard when they weren't in possession," he said.
"A player like Matt ticks all those boxes."
Melbourne also announced the signing of Adelaide midfielder Kristian Sarkies.
The Heart have also been linked to Sydney FC defender Simon Colosimo and Central Coast's Dean Heffernan, although Colosimo is eyeing off a move to Asia.
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