Newcastle coach Arthur Papas is hopeful the Jets will be able to extend the loan stay of Brazilian playmaker Daniel Penha beyond this A-League Men's season.
Penha was an unknown quantity when he was loaned to the Jets by Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro, but his creativity has turned heads with three assists and a goal to start the campaign.
Thankfully for the Jets, there is no recall clause in his loan agreement and Papas was bullish when asked if they would be able to hold onto the electrifying 23-year-old beyond this year.
"He's come in on loan and there's some options around that," Papas said. "There's a healthy discussion going on because Daniel wants to stay with us as well.
"Full respect to his club who we deal with. There's some positive things happening there, but we are not in a position to announce it yet.
"He's from a very big club in Atletico Mineiro. They've had some big players like Hulk and so on.
"We had a lot of belief that we were signing a very good player in Daniel and it's important that he's here for the rest of the season at a minimum."
Papas has not coached his side in a match since December 19 due to COVID-19 forcing the club into six postponements.
But the Jets coach said he was confident they had got through the worst of it as they prepared to face Adelaide United at home on January 30 as part of a club double-header.
"I think we are over the hill but there is still a small portion [of players] that haven't had it and we don't want them to get it," Papas said.
"It's given us an opportunity to work on the way we want to play and keep getting fitter and from that point of view we have a full squad available when it comes to injuries."
Meanwhile, Perth Glory coach Richie Garcia fears avoiding another COVID-19 hiatus in his ALM squad may be impossible during the club's travels across the eastern seaboard.
The Glory ended a 42-day wait between fixtures on Wednesday when they lost 1-0 to Brisbane Roar at Moreton Daily Stadium.
Garcia's team now head to NSW where they will face Sydney FC on Saturday before taking on Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium on January 26.
Then they play away matches with Melbourne City and Central Coast finally returning to Western Australia in mid-February for a run of home fixtures.
"We're going to try and keep the guys as safe as possible, that way we don't have any more disruptions to the season," Garcia said. "That 42-day break has already been a big disruption."
