Jets midfield star Angus Thurgate says it's an exciting time coming off contract and he has already attracted interest from other clubs, but he is leaving a decision on his future until the end of the A-League season.
Thurgate, who turns 23 in two weeks, has started in all 13 games for Newcastle this year and again highlighted his value with a goal in their 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers last Sunday at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Port Macquarie product, now with 103 A-League appearances for the Jets, was the competition's young player of the year last season and is sure to be in demand in Australia, and potentially abroad, when his contract ends in July.
Thurgate admitted on Tuesday that it was an exciting time in his career but said "I guess all you can really do is focus on how you're playing and put yourself in the best position possible".
Asked if he had attracted interest already from other clubs, he said: "Yeah, there has been but I've not made a decision yet and I'll just continue to play here and keep improving and see what happens.
"There's been chats with numerous people but I stay out of that. I let my management deal with that and, like I said, focus on playing footy."
Thurgate has been a rare success story for the Jets' development system in recent years. He moved to Newcastle as a teenager to chase his football dream in the club's academy but the Jets now face a tough task keeping him.
He debuted in the league during the Jets' 2017-18 campaign, which ended in grand final defeat to Melbourne Victory in Newcastle, but he did not feature in the play-offs and the club have since fallen short of the top six.
Newcastle, sitting 11th but just three points outside the six, start the second half of their season against Brisbane Roar at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
Asked if the Jets' finals fortunes this year would factor into his contract decision, Thurgate said: "Not really. I don't think that will be an impact.
"I'll just keep playing and weigh up all my options at the end of the year and make a decision that I feel is the best one for me going forward and taking my next step."
And did he need to move to progress his career?
"I guess I'll have to wait and see," he replied. "That will take time to decide.
"I love Newcastle, it's been great here so far but I'm just focusing on now, playing football at the moment for the Jets and trying to get as many points as I can."
He said it had been great working under Jets coach Arthur Papas.
"Since day one under Arthur he's pushed me to get the best out of myself," he said. "I'm really enjoying playing under him and the football he likes to play really suits me. I'm just focusing on now and trying to improve and hopefully get a few more goals.
"I've always said that goals and assists are what the people look for so getting more of them is definitely a key, but I think as a team, we're getting together, it's getting better and we're moving in the right direction."
While his header off a pinpoint cross from Dane Ingham put Newcastle ahead against Wanderers, Thurgate later gave away the equalising penalty with what he described as "a bit of a lazy challenge".
"It is what it is and I still feel like we did enough to get the three points," he said.
"On another day, we score three or four against them in the second half."
Newcastle, who also drew 1-1 with Western United a week earlier, next face a Brisbane side coming off a scoreless draw with Melbourne City. The Roar sit eighth on 16 points, two points ahead of the Jets.
"I think we've taken some good steps in the last couple of games, creating goalscoring opportunities and getting ourselves further up the pitch, so I think that's more of the same, trying for a balanced 90 minute performance is key," he said.
"I feel like last time we played them it was a game that was decided by a set piece so I think we've already acknowledged that this week and we're going to focus on that heavily."
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