By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about football betting
The man who once won the treble with Manchester United has turned down the chance to play his football in the Australian A-League. After considering an offer to represent the Newcastle Jets, Dwight Yorke has decided to stay in England with Premier League side Sunderland.
It is thought that Sunderland boss Roy Keane is happy for Yorke to end his contract – that runs out at the end of the current season – early, paving the way for a move to Australia. However, Yorke believes that playing for Trinidad and Tobago would be difficult if he moved to the other side of the world.
The 37-year-old is obviously still keen to prolong his international career and this has been one of the reasons that a move isn’t likely to happen at this moment in time.
The Jets wanted Yorke help them out in the Asian Champions League campaign, but the player couldn’t juggle this with his international commitments.
Ian Crook, who is the Jets high performance manager, has revealed that ‘money was not a problem’ in the potential move and that it was purely a ‘clash of calendars’. Trinidad have qualified for the final stages of World Cup qualification and this fell at the same time as when Yorke would be needed by the Jets.
Had the move gone ahead, it wouldn’t have been the first time that Yorke had tried his luck in Australia. Back in the 2005/2006 season, he played 22 games for Sydney FC and found the back of the net on eight occasions. There was no doubt that he enjoyed his time in Sydney, but the opportunity to play in the Premier League again came about and it was too good for him to turn down.
This is all a bit of a shame for the Newcastle Jets because Yorke would have been an excellent signing for them. Even though he is at the latter stages of his career, Yorke’s experience alone would have been enough to improve their chances of victory in the Asian Champions League campaign. The football odds may have started backing them had Yorke completed the move.
As things are though, The Jets are going to have to carry on regardless and Yorke will be pondering his options. Sunderland obviously don’t need him and with a move to Australia ruled out, he may have to play in the lower leagues in England to prolong his professional football career.
