Barbarouses, 21, signed a three-year contract with Russian second division club Alania Vladikavkaz for an undisclosed fee on Friday.

The departure of the New Zealand depletes Brisbane's forward stocks even further following the move of Costa Rican striker Jean Carlos Solorzano to Melbourne Victory.

However, Postecoglou said he is confident of finding a replacement for Barbarouses, who was named in the A-League All-Star Team last season after 12 goals in 33 appearances for the Roar.

“I’ve obviously known about this possibility for a little while now, so we’ve already got some things in place to find a replacement,” Postecoglou said.

Postecoglou admitted he hoped the former Wellington Phoenix man would have decided to stay around for another season at least in the A-League, with the transfer to Alania effective immediately.

“We’re definitely disappointed to see Kosta leave the club, he was an important part of our team,” Postecoglou said.

“I would have liked for him to stay another season to further his development. That was not to be, I’m sure Kosta will be a great asset to his new club and we wish him the best of luck.

“Our club policy is to identify young talent, help them to develop their game within our team structure and enable to them to further their careers.”