Dreams of a move to the English Premier League have been put on hold for Socceroos stars Brett Holman and Rhys Williams with the closure of the January transfer window on Wednesday.
While Williams’ younger brother Ryan secured a move from Portsmouth to EPL club Fulham on deadline day, Rhys Williams and Holman stayed put despite being linked with moves to Premier League clubs.
Rhys Williams’ club Middlesbrough reportedly turned down a surprising STG6 million ($A8.96 million) offer from Bolton for the 23-year-old.
Boro are eighth in the Championship and pushing for promotion to the top flight next season and it’s likely Williams will pursue a move should they fail to go up.
A transfer to Bolton would have been a risky one for Williams, with the Trotters sitting just above the relegation zone.
Holman, arguably the Socceroos’ best performer in recent years, had been angling for a move from his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar to a bigger league with Bolton, Fulham, Aston Villa and Blackburn all said to be chasing his signature.
However a move failed to eventuate for the 27-year-old, meaning he will remain as part of AZ’s title charge this season.
Holman is off contract at season’s end and could be signed on a free transfer, with Alkmaar admitting it will be hard to keep hold of him.
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck said last year he felt Holman was good enough to be playing in the Premier League or Bundesliga.
Holman’s management group Inspire Sports would not comment on his future.
Ryan Williams will link with Socceroos star Mark Schwarzer at Fulham after completing his move from Portsmouth on a two-and-a-half year deal.
The 18-year-old winger has made six appearances off the bench for cash-strapped Portsmouth this season and was transferred for an undisclosed fee, although reports earlier put it at around the STG500,000 ($A750,000) mark.
The Williams family continues to make strides in England with Ryan’s twin brother Aryn on the books at Burnley.
While Ryan is unlikely to see first team action for some time, he described his move to Fulham as a “big step forward”.
“It’s been a long few days actually, finding out whether or not I was going to be signing,” he said.
“But I’ve signed a two-and-a-half-year deal here so I’m really happy to be part of the club, it’s a good club.
“It’s such a big move coming to a Premiership club.
“It’s just really for my footballing education and playing more games, playing for the reserves and stuff like that.”
Central Coast are yet to seal a loan swoop for Hearts striker John Sutton but they still have time to do so with the A-League transfer window open for another fortnight.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold has targeted the 28-year-old Englishman to cover for the departure of frontman Matt Simon.
Meanwhile 19-year-old striker Kerem Bulut, who received his first Olyroos call-up last week, has reportedly left Czech club Mlada Boleslav to join Turkish Super Lig outfit Eskisehirspor.
