Allsopp jetted out of Melbourne on Tuesday night but speculation is rife that Bleiberg was initially approached by the Qataris about Smeltz.

It's rumoured that this has incensed the Smeltz camp who are now actively seeking a west Asian deal.

However, Bleiberg said he had not had contact with any Qatari club. Nor, he said, did he redirect any such inquiries about any of his players, Smeltz included.

"It's all just true blue rumours," Bleiberg told au.fourfourtwo.com of the Smeltz link with Qatar. "I have never heard of this club, and no-one from this club ever talked to me.

"No-one from the club ever rung me to ask about Shane Smeltz.  I don't understand what all the fuss is about. There is no trace of phone call or correspondence between me and this club."

However he added he was not confident about holding onto Smeltz long-term. "I wish Shane all the best and Shane should do whatever is the best for Shane. That's soccer reality."

But he added that the Gold Coast was a good environment for the player.
"I think Shane is in a place where he enjoys to live, enjoys to play and his family is happy and unlike many other clubs in the world, the money is in the bank here. With Clive the money is already in the bank.

"So I believe it will be something special to take Shane away. And the best thing for Shane is to deal direct with Clive."

Smeltz, 27, has a buy-out clause of $300,000 in his contract and could leave the A-League leaders at any time.

Ironically New Zealander Smeltz is in the Middle East today preparing for the All-Whites' friendly against Jordan in Amman.

And Bleiberg had some advice for the reigning A-League player of the year and Golden Boot - who's scored eight times in five matches this season following two seasons at Wellington which reaped 21 goals in 39 appearances.

"I remember when Shane Smeltz wanted to go to Turkey [in the pre-season] and had an offer from the same club as [Bruce] Djite and [Mile] Jedinak and look what's happened to these two guys now? Now they're suffering."

Bleiberg also denied speculation that Joel Porter was being targeted by cashed up west Asian clubs, but added: "Our players come cheap because of the salary cap. We are a target for anywhere in the world.

"I said from the first day that Asia introduced the rule 3+1... in Australia with most players aside from marquees earning less than $200,000, so honestly, we are a target.

"But I can tell you, no-one approached me or asked me about any of our players including Shane Smeltz. People all the time talk Smeltz is going here, going there, but nothing has happened."

Gold Coast midfielder Adam Griffiths signed for Saudi club Al-Shabab last month on a big money contract. Together with the signing of Allsopp, interest is clearly growing in the petro dollars-backed region of the AFC.

The Emirates transfer window remains open for another three weeks ensuring a nervous time for many A-League clubs.