CARLOS Hernandez's Melbourne Victory career looks to be coming to an end, with the star midfielder yet to be offered a contract.

As the Herald Sun revealed, Adrian Leijer, Matthew Foschini and Petar Franjic have signed new deals, but negotiations with older players have stalled as the club looks to rebuild its list.

Rodrigo Vargas, Tom Pondeljak and possibly Grant Brebner, all of whom are out of contract in April, may not get new deals.

Ante Covic also falls in the veteran category but his form in goal has been outstanding. Jean Carlos Solorzano and Diogo Ferreira's contracts also expire at the end of the season.

Hernandez is a crowd favourite but coach Jim Magilton appears frustrated with the Costa Rican's application, having started him on the bench in the past two games.

It has also emerged that Hernandez was on the verge of leaving for Azerbaijan a fortnight ago. FC Baku negotiated a transfer fee, but the deal fell through.

Hernandez said in December he was seeking a loan deal to keep match fit for Costa Rica's World Cup qualifiers in June but, with Victory yet to offer him a deal, a free transfer is the most likely scenario.

Originally published as No new deal points to Carlos exit