Australian footballer Tim Cahill will stay in the Chinese Super League following his recent firing from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC, recent reports say.
Cahill just became a free agent on Tuesday when he and CSL club Shanghai Shenhua mutually agreed to the termination of his contract after the 36-year-old attacking midfielder was told by new head coach Gregorio Manzano that he was not part of the team's plans this coming season.
It was a move that reportedly angered a lot of the Blue Devils' fans as they want to keep Cahill, but the 5-foot-10 Australia international is said to be keen on moving on from the bitter split while still playing in China.
ABC News reported that Cahill "will sign for another Chinese club after his shock axing from Shanghai Shenhua" and rumors have emerged that it could be with another CSL team, Hangzhou Greentown FC.
"He will stay in China. I'm in Asia now and will be with him in two days to discuss potential deals (and) there are a few interested clubs," said his agent, Ante Alilovic.
Cahill had just signed a contract extension in November of last year and have scored 11 goals in 28 appearances for the Shanghai residents, but despite that he was still released. Speculations have arisen that the Blue Devils were just making way for the arrival of Nigeria international Obafemi Martins who they signed on Thursday.
Rumors of a potential move back to the A-League were squashed "the Australian transfer window is shut and Cahill would have had to become a free agent before 2 February to be eligible", reports The Guardian.
The report noted, though, that Cahill could "hypothetically get around this if he took his case to FIFA's dispute resolution chamber and convinced them his contract was torn up without just cause".
However, it looks like the Sydney native is ready to move on to another squad and it would most likely still be within the Chinese Super League.
The Sydney Morning Herald indicated that "Cahill could join fellow national team player Matthew Spiranovic at Hangzhou Greentown" as his camp is said to have already begun negotiating with the club "for a one-year deal".
Presently, there are four teams in the China top flight that are still in need of imports and the Chinese transfer window is still open until Feb. 26.