In recent days Ahmad Elrich has been linked to a move to the A-League after being released by London club Fulham.

But Mariners CEO Lyall Gorman told au.fourfourtwo.com Elrich may prove too expensive for Australian sides due to salary cap limitations.

Now Tarek, who plays for the Newcastle Jets, says Ahmad may forego high wage demands for quality football in a bid to push for Socceroo selection ahead of the next World Cup.

Ahmad was a star performer in the NSL and will be even more attractive if he was willing to fit within already-tight budgets.

“He’d been training hard with Fulham but he was off contract at the end of the year,” says Tarek.

“His coach just told him he probably wouldn’t see much first-team football unless there were injuries so Ahmad told them he wanted to come back to Australia because all he wants is good-quality 90-minute football.”

Tarek also confirmed that Ahmad has fully-recovered from his knee injury and that he has attracted interest from a number of cash-rich clubs.

“He’s got a few offers from overseas so he’s just weighing it all up," he said. “He told me he’s not going to rush into anything.

"He might have a week or two off while he trains by himself in Australia. His main priority is the Socceroos."

Tarek added: “He’s got a few offers from the Middle East and there are a few clubs in Turkey that are interested.

"Because of his knee injury, it’s just been tough for him. Whatever club he goes to, he just wants to be guaranteed a spot.

“His knee is 100 per cent and he can easily change direction. He told me it feels like it never happened.”

Meanwhile the Newcastle Jets will today leave for Wellington ahead of their match on Sunday.

The Jets have altered their schedule after coach Gary Van Egmond allowed the players to choose the team’s travel schedule.

“Gary asked us what we wanted and we said we’d rather get there later and train in the afternoon,” revealed Tarek.

“Gary asked us what were more comfortable with. He told us game day was his, but the day before the game was up to us so we chose to leave later rather than first thing in the morning which is what we normally do.”

Tarek also the echoed the sentiments amongst many A-League players in his opinion of Wellington Phoenix.

"They’re not the easybeats anymore," he said. "Wellington are a pretty good team over there. Their first match against Melbourne was pretty impressive.”