Lets get cracking: Jets coach to discuss plans with new owners

A consortium of Melbourne and Sydney businessmen have completed the purchase of the Jets.

The transfer of the A-League license is subject to approval from Football Australia (FA), a process which could take up to three weeks.

However, Stanton is in contract talks with a number of players and is keen to get his squad in place for next season.

The Jets coach is in Melbourne this week, where he is assisting with the A-League All-Stars ahead of their clash with English Premier League club Newcastle United at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

"The plan is to get together with one or two of the owners in Melbourne this week to get a bit of clarity," Stanton said. "There are a few things I need to get done.

"I need to have some conversations with the owners to see what their ideas are and what they want to do. I want to be told this is what you can do and then I can get on with it. If I can't get cracking on it, when we rock up to start preseason, we will be behind. That is what happened last season. We should be starting in a better position, not going backwards."

Stanton said confirmation of the new owners was comfort to the players and staff.

"That is something that is good for the fans as well," he said. "There are a lot of really passionate people who have followed the club for many years. They will be relieved."

The Jets have 10 players contracted for next season, including recruit Aleks Susnjar.

Kosta Grozos, Callum Timmins, Archie Goodwin, Lachy Bayliss and Phil Cancar have been offered extensions.

"There are five or six players to get done," Stanton said. "A couple have contracts in front of them but haven't signed."

Grozos, Timmins, Bayliss and Cancar are expected to put pen to paper.

Goodwin, 19, has received interest from other A-League clubs and told the Newcastle Herald last week he was "weighing up" his options.

"I had a chat with Archie this week," Stanton said. "He is up in the air. That is for him to decide. If he doesn't want to stay and wants to challenge himself somewhere else, that is something I have to accept."

There is strong speculation that the annual financial grants that clubs receive from the Australian Professional Leagues will be slashed.

The central distribution, which is largely sourced from the broadcast deal, was cut to $2 million this season. There is a fear that it could be as low as $500,000 for 2024-25.

The distributions were discussed at an A-League meeting earlier this month but a final decision was reserved until after this Saturday's grand final.

The salary cap is expected to remain at $2.6 million, with a minimum spend of $2.125 million.

"We are in the bottom four in terms of budget," Stanton said. "Those are conversations I need to have to get clarity.

"We are still going to be a very young team."

"We might even be younger. Some of the players I want to bring in are younger than the ones who have departed. There are a couple of senior ones I'm hoping to add to give us more leadership on and off the pitch.

"The league might look a bit different next season. I think clubs will look more to youth. We have done that this season with our squad. We probably have a good advantage there in a sense we had less senior players and had to develop people."

Jets player of the year Apostolos Stamatelopoulos is in camp with the All-Stars and remains central to Stanton's plans.

Stamatelopoulos, who scored a club record 17 goals, received interest from two English Championship clubs earlier in the year but Stanton said there had not been an offer for the striker.

"I have not heard anything," Stanton said. "If something happens, great. If not, he will play out the season for us."

Jets players are on holidays and will assemble for preseason training on June 24.

"We have an Australian Cup qualifier to prepare for," Stanton said. "It won't be our full squad. The majority of the players will be from the A-League squad, but I foresee a sprinkling from the NPL team. I think it is too early for such a competitive game. I am more focused on building what the team will look like for next season."