THE cashed-up resources of the Chinese Super League have lured Mariners striker Bernie Ibini, who has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Shanghai SIPG that will earn him several times his $100k deal with the title winners.

Though the Mariners said last night that no deal had been finalised, Ibini expects to depart shortly for a medical - landing Central Coast a $600,000 windfall for a player entering the last year of his contract and able to exit for free a year hence.



Unabashed in his desire to play overseas, Ibini had trialled with Belgian side Club Brugge in January, and watched his close friend Mat Ryan depart on Monday to sign a deal with Brugge.



Instead of going to Europe, though, Ibini is poised to join a side deep in relegation trouble, having lost six of their first 11 games after winning promotion to the top tier last season, but hugely ambitious and prepared to invest heavily under former Chinese national coach Gao Hongbo.



Ibini's departure will bring to almost $4 million the money brought in to the Mariners from transfers in the past three years, as Asian clubs in particular have plundered the most consistently successful team in the A-League under Graham Arnold.



Matt Simon and Alex Wilkinson both moved to Korea, though Simon recently rejoined the Gosford club, while Rostyn Griffiths and now Ibini have left for China.



A trio of players have also moved to Europe in Mustafa Amini (Borussia Monchengladbach), Tom Rogic (Celtic) and Ryan, with lucrative sell-on clauses in some cases promising further income.



Pedj Bojic was also granted a release last week to seek a contract with Sydney FC, and Patrick Zwaanswijk retired after the club's exit from the Asian Champions League.



There could be further moves afoot, with Oliver Bozanic on the radar of at least two clubs in Korea, and continued uncertainty surrounding the future of coach Graham Arnold.



Nonetheless A-League chiefs insist they are not worried about the exodus of talent.



"We've had some high-class players enter the competition in the recent past but we shouldn't be surprised when some of our best homegrown talent want to test themselves elsewhere," FFA corporate affairs chief Kyle Patterson said last night.



"In fact we should rejoice in it, from the point of view that we're fully part of the football world and not some backwater.



"Certain markets are particularly lucrative, and the players have earned the right to see what those markets have to offer."

