Terry Antonis Parma deal still not complete

More than a month ago, Sydney FC agreed to sell Terry Antonis to Parma FC yet he still has not joined the Serie A club. Though Parma convinced the 19-year old attacker to abandon plans to join FC Utrecht at the last minute, and agreed to personal terms on a four-year deal, they have not yet paid the agreed upon fee to the Sky Blues.

Negotiations between the two clubs have stalled with the hang up resting on the percentage of the $300,000 fee paid to Sydney before the transfer. The Sky Blues want the full amount and believe that was the arrangement in the first place. Parma would prefer to pay twice yearly instead of a lump sum.

At the moment, Antonis is with Australia's U20s preparing for the World Cup in Turkey. At a minimum he will be with the Young Socceroos through June 28, the date of the final group stage game in Group C. Should Australia advance, Antonis would be in Turkey into the first or even second week of July. With the two clubs not communicating at present and Parma's pre-season beginning in July, there remains a very short window for the clubs to settle their differences and get Antonis to Italy in time to adequately prepare for the upcoming season.

Sydney were not necessarily planning to sell Antonis this offseason but offers from both Utrecht and Parma triggered a release clause in the youngster's contract. While the expectation in Italy is that the deal will be completed, Sydney CEO Tony Pignata seems content to bring Antonis back for another A-League season, if possible:

"What I will say is that while we'd never stand in the way of a player wanting to better themselves in Europe, we've made it very clear to Terry that we'd be happy to have him here for another year. The advice from all of us has been that we think he'd benefit from another year in the A-League, but of course it's up to him."

Meanwhile, Atonis remains listed on the Sydney roster as he is still under contract through the 2013/14 season.