It is not the first time foreign interest has come for Juric. Russian Premier League club Torpedo Moscow and a Swedish club have tabled offers in recent months.

The Swedish club's offer – reportedly close to $500,000 – and Torpedo's subsequent offer of $700,000 were rejected by last season's A-League runners-up.

But Sanfrecce's offer, thought to involve a similar figure to that of Torpedo, is likely to  be more tempting. Unlike other clubs, they will be prepared to wait until January, when the J-League season begins, before taking him on.

That would allow Juric to compete in the first few months of the A-League season and take part in the Wanderers' Asian Champions League campaign. Ironically, it was Juric's penalty in the away leg of the round-of-16 ACL match against Sanfrecce in May that proved critical in deciding the tie in the Wanderers' favour.

As Juric is out of contract at the end of the season, selling him would alleviate the club's equally big concern: that he walks out for nothing in June.

Sydney-based player agent Tadashi Miyashita, who is responsible for bringing a number of Japanese players to the NSW Premier League, said the Mazda-owned club wanted to make a big offer.

"I've been speaking with Sanfrecce and they have asked me to find out his details because they are interested," he told Fairfax Media. "They are looking for a big, strong No.9. They really like him and will be willing to pay him good money.

"I was speaking to their coach [Hajime Moriyasu] recently and he definitely wants to make an offer for Tomi, 100 per cent."

Sanfrecce also has the distinct advantage of being the club where Wanderers' coach Tony Popovic spent four years as a player between 1997 and 2001. That period left an indelible impression on Popovic, whose penchant for discipline and professionalism was shaped by his stint in Chugoku.

The club primarily seems to be on the lookout for a new forward to replace iconic striker Hisato Sato, who has scored more than 140 goals for the club but has been dropped to the bench recently.

Juric's blistering form in the A-League last season, which nearly brought him into World Cup contention, attracted widespread acclaim, with many pundits likening his style to a young Mark Viduka.

The 23-year-old ended the season with eight goals in 20 league appearances, but further impressed in the knockout stages of the club's barnstorming ACL run.

After denting Sanfrecce's hopes, Juric scored in both legs against Chinese powerhouses Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter finals – again converting an away penalty that proved critical in helping the Wanderers advance.

Such form has not gone unnoticed beyond the A-League with clubs in Belgium and Denmark also believed to be monitoring the striker, who was a relatively unknown quantity when he returned to Australia last year after five seasons in Croatia.