All that remains now is the 23-year-old striker’s signature on the contract to complete the most lucrative deal of the current crop of Socceroos, after Shanghai came to financial terms with the Wanderers for a fee of around $1.5 million.

The arrival at Western Sydney this week of former Young Socceroos striker Kerem Bulut showed the Wanderers are preparing for Juric's exit.

And despite former Socceroos Sasa Ognenovski and John Kosmina urging Juric to further his career in Europe rather than China, it appears the deal is now all but done.

It’s understood that Juric, who scored Australia’s fourth goal off the bench in Tuesday’s 4-0 rout of Oman, has already informed Wanderers coach Tony Popovic of his intention to further his career in China under Shenhua's former Bordeaux coach Francis Gillot.

Ante Alilovic, the Sydney-based agent brokering the transfer, confirmed: "The clubs have agreed a fee and there is no issue there.

"I am expecting things to be finalised very shortly. It is looking very positive."

Ognenovski, who like Juric is an AFC Champions League winner, made his name with with K-League giant Seongnam Ilhaw.

Despite that he insists that going to Asia, China in Juric's case, would be a retrograde step, telling Fox Sports:

"If he wants to cash up, and build houses out west, fine - go to China. But if he wants to realise his full potential, be the best he can, he should try get to Europe."

"I don’t think he’ll develop his football there. They want proven goalscorers, guys who are going to go over there and win them games."

Kosmina weighed in: "If he wants to fill his pockets, fine, go to China. But they want a finished product over there. They don’t want to take a guy like Tomi … he’s got a lot to learn still, they don’t want him coming over there and start teaching him more about football."

But Alilovic disagreed, declaring: "Shanghai has a top coach in Francis Gillot who spent three years with Bordeaux and won the French Cup there.

"How can Tomi not learn and develop under a coach like that. No disrespect to Tony Popovic but I think Bordeaux is a bigger club than Western Sydney.

"You have players like Italian international Alessandro Diamanti (currently on loan at Fiorentina) at Guangzhou Evergrande and it's a stronger league than the A-League in terms of wages, coaching and football quality. Foreign players are being paid well and the intensity of the competition is good."

Shanghai is in a rebuilding phase after a disappointing 2014 season in which it finished only ninth.

Its foreign contingent includes Colombian international midfielder Giovanni Moreno, and up front former Argentine international Lucas Ezequiel Viatri and Brazilian Paulo Henrique.

As an added bonus for Juric, the terms of the deal stipulate that should he fall short of expectations after one season, the club would still be obligated to pay out the remainder of his contract.