Luongo, who starred for the Socceroos in just his third appearance and first full start against Saudi Arabia earlier this month, is valued at $1.8 million by his club Swindon where he has just under two years left on his contract.

The League One side rejected a $1 million bid from Rotherham in July and Luongo almost moved to Championship club Wigan before the transfer window closed on 1 September.

Both Swindon's manager Mark Cooper and Luongo's long-time mentor David Magrone believe the former Tottenham U-21's skipper will ultimately move back to a Premier League side.

"There are phone calls on a weekly basis enquiring about Massimo," revealed Magrone, who also acts as Luongo's representative.

"He wants to move at some stage but he is committed to Swindon's cause this season. There is no hurry and I see the Premier League as a strong possibility as his next destination.

"If he had stayed at Spurs he would have been picked ahead of (fellow rookie) Nabil Bentaleb in the first team last season.

"There’s no need to rush to get out of Swindon, he needs to keep playing and keep impressing but to have so many clubs come calling is vindication of his development."

In his previous life as a junior coach at St George Saints and Apia Leichhardt in Sydney, Magrone first took Luongo under his wing at the age of 13.

He engineered his move to Tottenham before he switched to Swindon for $750,000 in 2013 in search of regular game time.

The pair were co-employees at Tottenham with Magrone, 40, first appointed as the club's chief European scout 20 months ago and then elevated to scouting Tottenham's Premier League opponents during the six-month reign of Tim Sherwood.

Luongo - whose deft touch, passing prowess and ability to turn opponents in tight areas has sent him soaring up the Socceroos pecking order - is not letting the flurry of enquiries become a distraction.

"I've had a few sniffs that people are watching me, and I've heard a few things ... of course it's flattering," he said.

"You hear from players at other teams that their club is watching you, or whatever, and it shows you are doing the right things at least.

"During the last transfer window in August I was asking the question 'what if someone comes in?' and [then] a few things may have happened.

"Dave [Magrone] basically told me there’s no need to rush and I will get 40 games this season, if I don’t get injured. That's the best way to get noticed."

Luongo revealed how a 90-minute video session with Magrone in May helped him revaluate and reshape his game to become a more potent presence leading into his selection for Australia’s 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.

"In League One everything is 100 miles an hour and teams will press you ridiculously," he said.

"Every time you are on the ball you think you are going to get tackled. You tend to do things really quickly … more than you need to. Basically, Dave took me aside and said I could and should do a bit more.

"I couldn’t see it, so we sat down and went through some clips he'd put together of my games.

"It showed I had more time than I thought and I could try a few different things - try and turn players and be more adventurous. I had the right tools but needed that awareness to use them better.

"I had to wait until we played a local club side in Brazil before the World Cup to put it into practice - and I was surprised how well it went.

"I called Dave straight way and I said, 'To be honest mate, all the things you told me to do I could get away with'.

"It’s made me a better player. Ever since I was young training with Dave, it's always been about treasuring possession. If I gave the ball away I'd be down on myself.

"Then at Tottenham it was also about what you did when you didn't have the ball.

"Now, in a more creative role, it's not so critical if you lose the ball because you are taking risks and trying to make things happen."

Luongo views Magrone as much more than a deal maker, adding: "We trained every morning before school together - that was big factor in my development. Then he took me to Spurs at 17, which was massive for me.

"I've always seen him as more of a coach in many ways because that's how it all began and he's guided me the right way, on and off the pitch."

On where his next career stop might be, Luongo said: "I would love to get back to the Prem one day but I am not thinking about that that much right now. You never know what can happen if the right coach likes you."

Magrone, who has had offers to join the analysis and scouting staff at Crystal Palace, Liverpool and West Brom while at Spurs, added: “Mass is a totally different player now.

"He wasn't threading the final ball and was going backwards too much and dribbling a little bit too much.

"He was receiving the ball and assuming there was somebody on his back. I told him to breathe and have a look.

"The final piece is to become a double-figures goalscorer … he certainly has that capacity. He can play as a No.10, or as a holding midfielder. He has the engine to do it all."



