MELBOURNE Heart hopes to announce the signing of Socceroos captain Lucas Neill this afternoon.

But Sydney FC may try to scupper the deal with Neill's former Socceroos mentor Frank Farina confirming his interest in the defender, who was released by United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl a fortnight ago.

The Herald Sun understands Neill and his agent Darren Jackson will meet Heart chief executive Scott Munn and football operations manager John Didulica in Sydney today.

Coach John Aloisi and assistant Hayden Foxe, both Socceroos teammates of Neill, have had detailed discussions with the 35-year-old in the past 48 hours.

"I don't sign the players. I get asked if I would like a player. I was asked a couple of days ago if I would want Lucas Neill and someone like him would be great for us," Aloisi said.

"He's captain of Australia, a leader on the park and great for the younger boys to help them develop. It would be great for the A-League to have the Socceroos captain.



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"It would be great for the game, great for whichever club picks him up and great for the Socceroos. He's a great name, great player and great leader.

"I had a chat to him a couple of days ago to see where he's at football-wise and what he wanted out of the rest of this season and he wants to play football."

Neill is believed to have been told by Socceroos coach Holger Osieck he must play regularly if he wants to be guaranteed a first 11 spot.

Brisbane Roar was also interested but its exit from the Asian Champions League on Wednesday night ended any hopes it had of luring him.

Farina, who was yesterday confirmed as Sydney FC coach for a further two seasons, admitted interest in Neill. "We haven't ruled it out, put it that way, though we haven't had any discussions yet," he said.

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Meanwhile Football Federation Australia yesterday revealed reports of an A-League betting plunge of almost $50 million were incorrect.

FFA confirmed the amount wagered on the Adelaide-Melbourne Victory game in December was closer to $5 million.

The error occurred when media outlets reported the estimated figure in Australian dollars instead of the correct denomination, Hong Kong dollars.

The game had been cleared of match-fixing suspicion.

Originally published as Heart on verge of signing Neill