SYDNEY FC are considering making an offer to unsettled Victory playmaker Carlos Hernandez..

The Costa Rican is almost certain to leave Victory because he is infuriated with the club's handling of his contract negotiations.

And sources say Sydney are very interested in his likely availability.

Hernandez, 29, has been told for months that a new contract is imminent at Melbourne Victory but a verbal offer was only made in recent days.

Hernandez, who has a cult following among Victory's fans, is disillusioned with the club's procrastination and mixed messages regarding his future.

It's also understood that he is unhappy with the way he's been treated by Victory and in particular assistant coach Kevin Muscat.

He will return to Costa Rica when the A-League season concludes, where he will join the national team and consider his future.

Hernandez's discipline, weight and on-field effort has come into question during his five years with Victory.However, he has missed very few games, playing 120 matches and scoring 35 goals in that time.

The midfielder recently told The Daily Telegraph that his family is settled in Australia and wish to stay.

Nothing formal will be forthcoming from Sydney until a new coach is appointed, with all player negotiations suspended pending the decision on Vitezslav Lavicka's successor.

Meanwhile, Perth Glory defender Dean Heffernan will miss Saturday's final regular-season game against Victory after the match review committee determined his automatic one-match ban would stand after he was red-carded during last weekend's 3-0 loss to Gold Coast United.

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Originally published as Sydney eye up Victory's maestro