DWIGHT Yorke and Sydney FC teammates Iain Fyfe, Sasho Petrovski and David Carney may be heading to Romania after the end of the A-League season to keep match-fit leading into the World Cup finals.
Cashed-up Romanian first-division club Politehnica Timisoara is believed to be ready to take the Sydney FC quartet on a three-month loan arrangement.
Timisoara has just appointed legendary former Romanian international Gheorghe Hagi as its coach, and Hagi has been told money is no object in the quest to move the fourth-placed team up the table and into a Champions League qualifying place. Fringe Socceroos defender Jon McKain is already on its books.
Yorke said last weekend his UK-based agents were scouring Europe to solve the problem of how he can keep in shape before heading to the World Cup finals as skipper of Trinidad and Tobago in June. Socceroos hopefuls Fyfe, Petrovski and Carney are in the same boat.
The difficulty is in the timing, with many European leagues closing their transfer windows at the end of this month before the start of the A-League finals. But the solution could be in Romania, which doesn't close for transfer business until March 5 — the same day as the A-League grand final.
Sydney FC chairman Walter Bugno said he could not confirm any offers, adding: "If four of my players were going somewhere, I'd like to know about it. But we have been discussing a range of options with Dwight and his advisers, and there have been a few nibbles. What I can say is that no one will be leaving this club until after the grand final."
The board of Sydney FC will meet today, and an announcement on Pierre Littbarski's coaching future could be made.