Having built the 18-man spine of the 2016-17 squad, Sydney FC's attention is now fixed on signing a reliable goal scorer after a poor showing in front of goal last season. Their final marquee spot will be reserved for a foreign centre forward and that hunt has lead to a stack of CVs the club didn't quite expect.

"Yesterday when we counted we had 158 put forward," Arnold said. "We've analysed and looked at 158 of them so it's a matter of getting the right one and the one who will fit into our environment as well as the right player for our team."

The names Kevin Kuranyi, Nicklas Bendtner and Kenwyne Jones are among those that landed on Arnold's desk throughout the off-season but it's likely the club will sacrifice profile for performance for the second marquee position. Club sources told Fairfax Media they are not in talks to sign 32-year-old Danish striker Thomas Dalgaard, despite reports linking him to the Sky Blues.

Arnold promised two more major signings in the coming weeks and one of those arrivals will be a foreign marquee centre forward capable of scoring more than 15 goals a season.

"Our recruitment is going well and we've still got three to go," Arnold said. "There will be another big signing announcement probably next week and hopefully another one more towards August."

Sydney FC bolstered their goalkeeping stocks with one of the league's most experienced goalkeepers in Vukovic, although Arnold said no decision had been made whether he would start ahead of incumbent Vedran Janjetovic.

"They're both number one goalkeepers and it's been made clear to both of them that the one in form will play," Arnold said. "Danny's obviously had a lot of experience, Vedj has been at Sydney for a number of years now."

Vukovic was given a release by Melbourne Victory to move closer to his family in Sydney where he can receive support for his one-year-old son who needs a liver transplant.

"It's been well documented that I've had a few issues off the field with my family," Vukovic said. "As wonderful as football is – it's a massive part of my life – my family is my priority, their wellbeing and their health."

The chance to be close to his family during a difficult period was the reason for his move but the 31-year-old was also eager to be reunited with his first goalkeeping coach.

"The thing that most excited me was working with Jon Crawley again, the goalkeeper coach, " Vukovic said. "He was my first goalkeeping coach as a 13-year-old and taught me pretty much everything I know about goalkeeping. When I was playing some of my best football at the Mariners, it was under him."