A-League clubs can't rely on international transfers, says David Davutovic in ... - Herald Sun

Record-breaker: Central Coast player Rostyn Griffiths signed with Chinese club Guangzhou R&F in what was believed to be the A-League record. Picture: Robert Mckell Source: The Daily Telegraph

A-LEAGUE clubs could and should aim to eventually fund themselves almost exclusively through transfer fees but that day won't be soon.

While the cloak-and-dagger nature of international deals and currency fluctuations make it difficult to know precise fees, the Mariners' sale of Rostyn Griffiths a year ago to Chinese club Guangzhou R&F is believed to be the A-League record at close to $1 million.

That's followed by Tommy Oar ($900,000 from Brisbane to FC Utrecht) and Mitch Langerak ($850,000 from Victory to Borussia Dortmund).

BLOG LIVE WITH DAVID DAVUTOVIC FROM NOON

But the Australian records date back to the NSL days, with Zeljko Kalac, Jason Culina and Nick Carle all selling for over $1 million.

While the Griffiths sale highlights the some of the crazy money being spent in Asia, Langerak remains the back-up keeper and Oar has only this season broken into the first team consistently.

Until the players who go abroad dominate instantly and are then on-sold for a tidy profit, A-League clubs won't be able to command higher fees.

So $1 million-plus transfers are still a few years away.

Mark Viduka (sold from Dinamo Zagreb to Celtic for $500,000) and Emerton (Feyenoord to Blackburn for $2 million five years later) enhanced Australians' reputation so clubs scoured the NSL for the next Viduka and Emerton (Clayton Zane was sold from Northern Spirit to Molde in 2000 for $800,000 while PSV paid $650,000 for Sydney Olympic's Lindsay Wilson two years on).

Don't think it matters? Consider how many Aussie central defenders have signed in Korea off the back of Sasa Ognenovski's success.

Antun Kovacic, Alex Wilkinson, Robert Cornthwaite, Luke DeVere, Eddy Bosnar, Adrian Madaschi and Hamill all owe big Sash a beer.

Nick Ward, David Carney, Michael Beauchamp, Adrian Leijer, Mile Jedinak, Bruce Djite, Nathan Burns, James Holland, Oar, Adam Sarota, Michael Zullo, Nikita Rukavytsya, Matthew Leckie, Robbie Kruse, Langerak, Mustafa Amini, Eli Babalj, Curtis Good and Brendan Hamill have been sold off as promising youngsters.

Playing each week in the super competitive German Bundesliga, Jedinak and Kruse are the only ones whose reputations have been enhanced.

Kruse is the one who could potentially make Euro clubs sit up and take notice.

Oar, Leckie, Rukavytsya and Holland are beginning to make progress but need to continue producing consistently - and in Austria-based Holland's case in a stronger league - before they begin to turn heads.

Tom Rogic and Marco Rojas could also have a big say in how A-League players are viewed in the coming years.

The quality of the A-League is growing, the quality of the kids is growing a little slower but the fees certainly won't be going backwards.

The other thing that could lift fees is if clubs hang on to players for longer - Viduka, Emerton, Kalac and Culina were all sold after dominating Australia's domestic comp for at least two years.

GOAL OF THE WEEK

IAIN Ramsay's half volley was exquisite and Dario Vidosic's defence-splitting pass to release Jeronimo was crafty, but my favourite came from Newcastle.

James Brown's clever backheel sent Ryan Griffiths on his way and despite Brisbane pressure, remained composed enough to dink the ball over the advancing Michael Theo.