Victory deny Teague transfer rumours, seek to build momentum against Perth

Melbourne Victory officials have hosed down speculation of Ryan Teague moving to CSL side Shanghai Port, with interim coach Arthur Diles instead looking to build on the momentum of his first win.

Melbourne Victory has strongly denied reports linking Ryan Teague with a move to Chinese side Shanghai Port, with their focus instead on building up newly signed defender Lachlan Jackson and harnessing the momentum of breaking a six-game winless run when they meet Perth on Saturday.

Already the reported subject of interest from the Chinese Football Association about a possible international switch, reports emerged from China in the wake of Victory’s 2-0 win over Sydney last Friday about Teague making a move to reigning Chinese Super League champions Shanghai Port, who are coached by Victory legend Kevin Muscat.

When run through a translation service, however, several of these reports stated that Victory executives had confirmed Teague’s move following their win, which came as news to the club’s coaching staff and officials; interim coach Arthur Diles, managing director Caroline Carnegie, and director of football John Didulica all saying they were unaware of any deal being reached for the Olyroo to move to China.

And while Victory, like any A-League side, isn’t in a position where they can dismiss transfer bids for any of their players out of hand, and Teague is playing at a level wherein he would justify interest from overseas clubs, Didulica was clear that no offers had yet been forthcoming for the midfielder from China or elsewhere.

“We've received no formal or informal communication from China about Ryan,” he said.

“If an offer came to us that we all felt was in Ryan's best interest, then absolutely we'd look at it and make sure that his interest in the club's interests were served. But we haven't had to have that discussion yet.”

Speaking to media on Friday night, Teague played a straight bat when asked about his international future, saying "I'm here at Melbourne Victory trying to do the best for the team and myself right now and whatever is happening outside, I leave that to my people that are helping me.”

And although any international tug-of-war story inevitably generates much conjecture, clicks, and opinions, those at Victory were confident that any decisions that the former Olyroo would need to make between Green and Gold or Red would not affect his performances in the A-League Men.

“He's handling it really well,” said Diles. “He's part of our leadership group here. For a young man to be in a leadership group here at this football club – it speaks volumes of his character.

“That's a challenge for all players; how do you deal with all this throughout your career, whether you're young, old or in between? There's going to be noise around you at all different moments. It could be positive, it could be negative, and that's part of the cycle of a footballer.

“This is what players need to deal with and evolve with and grow with. He's on part of that journey at the moment, and he's doing a great job dealing with that.

“ I wouldn't even know that there's an interest in him, he's not showing any reason for us to think that something is going on in his head. He’s had a great week of training, and that's all we can judge him on.”

Didulica was also full of praise for Teague’s character.

“Ryan's an incredibly smart, level young man,” he said. “We have a really good program here that supports plays in every conceivable way. And Ryan is part of our leadership group, so I meet regularly with him around that. Whatever decision he makes, you'll know it's been thought through and the right one for him long term.”

After losing Jason Geria earlier in the transfer window, Victory welcomed new defensive reinforcement this week in the form of former Brisbane and Newcastle Jet centreback Jackson, who signed an 18-month deal at AAMI Park after four years with K-League outfit Suwon.

The 29-year-old will be eligible to play in Victory’s game against the Glory on Saturday evening but given that the Korean top flight played its last game in November, Diles said he would need some time to get up to speed.

“Lachy will probably take a couple of weeks to be up for selection,” he said. “The Korean league finished some time ago and we've got to respect that and consider that when we're building him up. But he's a great player, that's why we brought him into this club. Any decision we make in this window is a long-term decision, not a knee-jerk reaction. And we believe Lachlan can add to this group, both as a footballer and as a person, and make the group stronger. That’s why he's been signed.”

After running a gauntlet of top six foes and rivals across their past seven fixtures – a run that commenced when Diles was elevated to the interim role following Patrick Kisnorbo’s shock move to quit the club – the Glory contest will commence a run that, on paper, looks much more favourable for the Vuck.

Sandwiched around a February 22 derby with Melbourne City, Victory will play every side ranked eighth through 13th on the A-League Men's table across the coming weeks and, despite picking up just six of a possible 21 points across the past month, are still only three points back of third-place Western United.

Inevitably, though, Diles cautioned against complacency.

“We want to build momentum, for sure,” he said. “We don't look that far ahead... this ladder will change rapidly on a week-to-week basis. So you can't look at the ladder and judge your opponent by that. I think anyone that does that, is probably not doing the right thing.

“We're looking at every opponent week to week as an opponent and not so much where they see on the table. We know every team's qualities, and we have to be aware of that. We also know that we have a lot of quality, and we've got to build momentum and keep going forward as well.”

After getting his first start since rejoining the club against Sydney and putting in a strong performance built just as much off his presence and leadership as his actual shot-stopping, Diles indicated that Mitch Langerak would retain his place in goal against the Glory but that Jack Duncan would keep him on his toes.

“At the moment, he's in there,” Diles said of Langerak. “Like everybody, each week, everyone's got a job to do and everyone will be judged week to week. When you have competition for places, that helps with players having to perform as well.

“For us, we're in a privileged position to have two very good goalkeepers and they push each other every day, and that's really, really important for both of them.”

And with the A-League Men window open until February 12 and Duncan putting in strong performances before Langerak’s arrival, Diles laughed that, purely for selfish reasons, he hoped no other side might swoop on the veteran.

“I hope Jack doesn't do that, on our behalf!” he said. “If other clubs are looking to do that, then obviously they're looking to strengthen as well, right? And he's had a fantastic season so far and there's still a lot of football to be played. But yeah, I hope that's not something we have to deal with in the coming weeks, that's for sure!”