The club remain hopeful that the former Liverpool striker will be persuaded to agree a move to Townsville but they are not the only ones keen to have him on board.

Fury chairman Matheson says Fury cannot compete if it simply comes down to finance but then he doesn't believe Fowler is viewing the situation in purely financial terms.

He told au.fourfourtwo.com: "He has been offered some pretty good deals in other places, significantly more by Chinese teams.

"But what we're able to offer here is the lifestyle and also the chance to be part of a story from the start, to help the club from day one."

As the club waits for a 'yes' or a 'no' an encouraging sign is that further information regarding schools has been requested and supplied but Matheson refuses to let himself be swayed one way or the other when it comes to speculating the outcome.

He said: "I'm anticipating an answer in the next couple of days and of course we'd love the answer we want."

Should Fowler say no, then other irons are in the fire.

Matheson added: "Fergie (coach Ian Ferguson) has had some discussions (with other potential targets). Things are still ticking away. The eggs are not in the one basket."

While Fowler remains a 'maybe', the club have succeeded in adding another new face to the squad with the acquisition of former Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners defender Chris Tadrosse.

Coach Ian Ferguson told the Townsville Bulletin: "He's direct, he's a player that won't pull out of tackles and he's got a great engine (and) that's what I'm looking for."