In the latest sign of the ambitious owner’s determination to support coach Tony Popovic’s bid to turn the club into a superpower, the Uruguayan is expected to sign a multi-year marquee contract for 2019-2020.
Meantime, the 31-year-old - banished into exile after a fallout with City coach Warren Joyce in November - will sit out the remainder of his contract.
Fornaroli was first linked with Glory in a potential swap deal with Perth’s Irish forward Andy Keogh last month.
Keogh is off contract at the end of the season and his future is unclear.
When that fell through discussions continued, with Sage telling The World Game on Wednesday evening: “Bruno Fornaroli is a player Tony Popovic loves and wants to have at the club.
“It’s not up to us to announce anything until his (City) contract is finished, but he’s on our radar to get for next season and has been for the last month.
“The last I heard (from the football department) is that he’s very close to coming to terms with us.
“We’ve enquired about his availability for next season and I believe we’re in talks with him right now.
“I can’t confirm whether he’s signed yet but I’m told it was close.”
With 48 goals in 68 league appearances for City, Fornaroli’s finishing prowess has been the missing link for City this season, with Joyce choosing to deploy full-back Ritchie De Laet up front rather than recalling the fan favourite back from the wilderness.
Popovic, an even harder task-master than Joyce, believes he can fashion Fornaroli into the goal machine who was demolishing defenses before suffering a serious ankle injury last season.
City’s hopes of landing Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren to solve their goal woes before the imminent closure of the January transfer window hang in the balance, with Scottish club Hibernian prevaricating over releasing him from his season-long loan.
