A-LEAGUE bosses have floated the idea of introducing a “league-wide” marquee, potentially boosting the prospects of luring Tim Cahill to play out his career in Australia.

Put forward to the A-League clubs at a meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday, the concept is designed to aid in the quest to add stardust to the competition’s 12th season.

Under the proposal, clubs would be allowed to add a third marquee to their roster under revamped guest-player rules with financial support from Football Federation Australia, on the basis that it would be a figure who would drive ticket sales and broadcast ratings across the league.

The previous limit of 10 games for guest players would be removed, though only for players passing a stringent set of commercial criteria.

Though the initiative is not aimed at Cahill specifically, his is the kind of profile that would meet its objectives, and justify consideration of the $3m-plus-package the Socceroos’ leading goalscorer would command from a club and commercial partners.

While the exact details have yet to be finalised, the central tenet is that it must be a player who would guarantee spikes in attendance wherever his club played - and would drive TV ratings, just as FFA goes to market seeking a radically improved broadcast deal.

It would invoke the so-called Del Piero test, after the commercial benefits enjoyed wherever Sydney FC’s $4m-a-year marquee from 2012-14 played for the Sky Blues.

It would also assuage the fears of some club owners that filling one of two existing marquee spots with a striker who is 37 in December could expose them to financial risk if he were to be injured.

The new idea illustrates FFA’s increasing sense of urgency about the need to add marketing allure for next season, despite encouraging clubs to pursue potential marquee targets as early as possible with a number of high-profile European players on the market.

Could Fernando Torres head to the A-League next season? Source: Getty Images

Neither Sydney FC or Western Sydney would comment on Thursday on their potential interest in signing Cahill under the existing marquee rules, with a Wanderers spokesman reiterating that the club “never discusses potential signings or speculation”.

However it’s understood that Cahill joining the Wanderers is unlikely, not least as he would be likely to miss the opening game of the season - the Sydney derby at ANZ Stadium which shapes as Western Sydney’s biggest fixture of the season - due to the Socceroos playing World Cup qualifiers either side of the A-League’s opening round.

He would also miss one or even two games in November, and another in March, in fulfilling international commitments, with the A-League once more opting not to introduce international breaks.

Sydney FC are thought to be more open to the idea of pursuing Cahill, but the club already has a list of potential candidates to be a marquee striker - though Fernando Torres has not been offered to the Sky Blues.