Less than a year after turning his back on Perth Glory to join Brisbane, Adam Taggart has left the A-League club.
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The one-time Socceroo has been sold to an unnamed Asian club, believed to be South Korean team Suwon Bluewings, for an undisclosed fee. The transfer ends an eventful stint at the Roar for Taggart.
Branded a "liar" by Glory owner Tony Sage after turning his back on his hometown club in May last year to sign with the Roar, Taggart scored 11 goals in 18 A-League appearances for his new club.
That form came despite the departure of the man who played a key part in attracting him to the Roar - former coach John Aloisi - and the club's underwhelming campaign which has featured just two wins.
Interim head coach Darren Davies said Taggart's goalscoring exploits were always going to generate interest with overseas clubs.
"It's the nature of football isn't it?," Davies said. "When players do well there's always going to be speculation for them to leave.
"It's the nature of the business when a player does well and the club are happy with the transfer fee and the player is happy with the contract that he's about to sign, then that's the business we're in."
Taggart said his farewells to his teammates on Thursday and will undergo a medical before being unveiled by his new club.
Within hours of announcing his departure, the Roar confirmed youngster Dylan Wenzell-Halls had signed a two-year contract extension. The 21-year-old has scored two goals in his past two A-League appearances, including an injury-time thunderbolt to secure a 2-1 win over Sydney FC last Friday.
Davies challenged Wenzell-Halls to make the most of the opportunity.
Taggart's move means Davies loses another senior player from his already undermanned squad to face league leaders Perth this weekend.
While defenders Dane Ingham and Daniel Bowles will return from suspension, the Roar have Spanish midfielder Alex Lopez and goalkeeper Jamie Young out suspended. Jack Hingert, Brett Holman, Stefan Mauk, Luke DeVere, Connor O'Toole and Thomas Kristensen are all injured.
Meanwhile, Mark Rudan's future beyond this season at the Wellington Phoenix appears on shaky ground after the in-demand coach refused to commit to seeing out his contract.
On the eve of Friday's match against A-League champions Melbourne Victory in Auckland, Rudan said he was finding it hard to cope with being apart from his Sydney-based family.
He also wants assurances that Phoenix management will improve aspects of the team's off-field operations or he will leave with a season to run on his two-year deal.
The 43-year-old has previously hinted at finding it harder than expected to be apart from his wife and sons and spoke openly about that when pressed by journalists on Thursday. He conceded he is in talks about his future but wouldn't comment on speculation linking him to new club Western United FC.
"I've got a personal situation I have to resolve and pretty soon as well," Rudan said.
"I've got two teenage kids who need their dad around and a dad who needs them around too. I also said that if I thought it was going to be this hard I probably wouldn't have taken this on.
"That's reality."
Family ties aren't the only potential reason for a return across the Tasman for Rudan, whose team have exceeded expectations after a disastrous 2017-18 season.
Sixth and eight points clear of the Newcastle Jets, they are odds-on to reach the finals.
Yet Rudan revealed dissatisfaction at elements of the club's direction.
He wouldn't elaborate but appeared frustrated at Wellington's tight budget.
"I'm not going to sit back and rest on my laurels," he said.
"If things that have been done in the past continue in that way, then I won't be here.
"They need to improve, everything needs to improve."
Phoenix chief executive David Dome and chairman Rob Morrison have both been quizzed this month on Rudan's future.
Neither has guaranteed he will stay, instead declaring Rudan as a man of principle who they would expect to honour his deal.
Although Rudan said that blood is thicker than any contract agreement.
"I keep saying, first and foremost, I am most honourable to my family, simple as that," he said.
"And you can take that however you want, but that is the start of it and the end of it."
The uncertainty is an unwanted distraction before Phoenix's game at Eden Park, which is is expected to attract a crowd of close to 20,000 with Japanese star Keisuke Honda poised to start for second-placed Victory.