After a successful campaign with Heart last season where he was a regular starter, the 24-year-old Aussie full-back trialed in the off-season with the Italian club.

The trial was extended to three weeks on the orders of then Cagliari boss Roberto Donadoni, who coached Italy at the 2008 Euros.

Cagliari were impressed by Marrone’s fitness and his ability to fit their system, and made Heart a six-figure offer.

However, by the time the former Adelaide United defender had returned to Australia last month, Donadoni had left after a spat with Cagliari president Massimo Cellino. The coaching reshuffle effectively scuppered the Heart player’s chances of the dream move to Italy.

New Cagliari coach Massimo Ficcadenti – who last season led Cesena to a 15th-place finish in its first Serie A campaign in 20 years - subsequently reviewed his roster and decided he didn’t need a player like Marrone.

The man who oversaw the deal, Ritchie Hinton from The Pitch Management, said the Heart star would take great confidence from how well he did with the Serie A club.

“He was treated really well and the facilities and professionalism were out of this world," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"They extended his trial to three weeks which is always a good sign and while there, he also topped part of their fitness testing, which is a testament to Heart’s own fitness regime,” Hinton said.

“We were in the process of negotiating a deal after Cagliari made Heart an offer when the coaching change occurred in Italy.”

Heart players return to training today after a week off as they begin final preparations for the new A-League season which kicks off on October 8.

Hinton added: “Obviously Mike’s gutted but he’ll draw great confidence from this trial after impressing Donadoni.”

Meanwhile, with just five weeks to go before the start of the new season Heart, CEO Scott Munn told au.fourfourtwo.com the club’s active fan-base was growing.

“The Yarraside are fantastic, they’ve now expanded into another bay [at AAMI Park] and we know they’re aiming to double in size," he said.

"And they’ve been out doing their own pre-season, coming up with some new tunes!”