SUNDERLAND playmaker Dwight Yorke is planning a shock return to Australia’s A-League in June.
The 36-year-old played a pivotal role in helping Sydney FC win the inaugural A-League in 2005, and has been persuaded to finish his career Down Under by signing for the Central Coast Mariners.
Yorke is scheduled to meet Mariners chairman Lyall Gorman in London this week to thrash out the finer points of his contract.
The ex-Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn and Birmingham striker is understood to have already promised Mariners’ leading shareholder, Peter Turnbull, that the club will have first option on his services when he leaves Sunderland.
Mariners are prepared to overcome salary cap restrictions by splitting Yorke’s salary in two, being paid as a coach and again as a player.
But Yorke’s agent Simon Bayliff has revealed that money is not the driving force behind the player’s desire to return Down Under.
“Dwight has a very good relationship with Peter Turnbull, they have kept in touch ever since he left the club [Sydney FC] and the Mariners will have first option if he leaves Sunderland,” Bayliff said.
Turnbull said he was excited by the prospect of Yorke being a mentor to younger players. “Dwight has his UEFA coaching badge, and he could be accommodated in a player-coaching role,” he said.
“He was the catalyst that launched the A-League to a wider audience – he had the charisma that brought in the crowds. I know he’d like to come back because he loves Australia.”
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