With Irish striker Any Keogh , former Glory skipper turned general manager of football Jacob Burns is collaborating with coach Kenny Lowe to restore some of the lost lustre as last season's beaten finalist prepares for its FFA Cup round of 32 tie against Newcastle Jets at Magic Stadium on 11 August.
Whike conceding Glory has more chance of recapturing the signature of former Socceroos winger and one-time Perth rookie Rukavytsya than Juric, Burns confirmed that both were on Glory’s radar after being released by Western Sydney Wanderers.
“We are definitely on the lookout for players of their calibre and we are obviously actively in the market on that front,” said Burns.
“There aren’t too many Australian-born players out there who are available for those positions, and everybody is looking for the best possible deal they can get.
“When you talk about these two they tick a lot of boxes.
Ukraine-born flier Rukavytsya scored 16 goals in 42 appearances for Glory between 2007-2009, before returning to the A-League with the Wanderers last season.
“With Nikita there’s obviously that relationship from the past," Burns said. “He still has family here and there is a genuine interest there for him. But we are also looking at a whole lot of other options.
“One thing is apparent, we need a marksman to replace Keogh but are of course dictated to by the funds available.
“Any club would love both these boys. Tommy playing down the middle and Nikita on the wing. Have that in your team and you are in a pretty good spot.”
While Rukavytsya’s wage demands would be around $250,000, the 28 year-old, whose roll call of clubs includes FC Twente, Hertha Berlin, Mainz and FSV Frankfurt, would be a more attainable target than Juric, whose preference is to move to Europe where he has already held aborted talks with the likes of Standard Liege and Legia Warsaw.
Juric also rejected a $10 million move to Chinese Super League powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua in January – with Australia teammate Tim Cahill ultimately moving there instead.
Glory, which was stripped of its spot in the finals and fined $269,000 after being found guilty of exceeding the $2.55 million salary cap by more than $400,000 last season, has only five plays remaining from last season’s preferred starting team.
In addition to Keogh’s exit it has lost goalkeeper Danny Vukovic, striker Jamie Maclaren, yong gun Danny De Silva, defender Scott Jamieson, winger Youssouf Hersi and midfield enforcer Rostyn Griffiths.
Veteran goalkeeper Ante Covic, defender Antony Golec, Hungarian midfielder Gyorgy Sandor and Sydney FC rookie Hagi Gligor are among the new signings as the club cranks up its rebuilding phase.
Burns believes Glory can rise again and be competitive in 2015-2016, adding: “We are probably not in a dissimilar position to the year before when we lost eight or nine players with guys retiring, seeking other opportunities or going overseas.
“But we have brought in a few and I am really looking forward to seeing Sandor play because he’s an exciting talent while Golec will fill a good spot for us.
“It’s piece by piece and I think with a couple more to come in before the season starts we will be stronger and ready when the time comes.
“There’s huge hunger here for success from the players who have stayed and those we have brought in.”
