Sydney FC marquee striker Bobo is understood to be close to securing his future with the club, having agreed in principle to sign a new contract for next season.
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Fairfax Media understands the Brazilian striker is happy to remain with Sydney for another season and while contract talks will be finalised after the season is completed, Bobo has already indicated his willingness to accept a new offer from the club. The 32-year-old former Besiktas, Gremio and Corinthians centre-forward is enjoying a strong finish to his first season in the A-League having struck 15 goals already for Sydney FC, becoming their second-highest goal scorer for a single season.
Sydney are determined to keep him as their marquee for a second year after his impressive role in their march towards the A-League premiership and Bobo is set to accept their offer, which will formally be signed off before the players go on their end-of-season break.
Bobo is set to play his first A-League finals game when Sydney FC host Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night and has no concerns over the Western Australians' overly physical style of defending. Their central defender Dino Djulbic was inspiring with a commanding yet rigorous performance in their 2-0 elimination finals victory over Melbourne City last week. Bobo says he's accustomed to being marked by defenders of Djulbic's style and holds no fears of the physicality of the A-League, having spent nine seasons playing in the notoriously rough Turkish Super Lig.
"It's not a problem, I am used to it," Bobo said via a translator. "It doesn't impress me because in Turkey, it's pretty rough as well. It isn't different from how the game is played outside of Australia in the rest of the world."
His comments follow suggestions teams may be resorting to overly physical defending in an attempt to nullify Sydney's attacking and creative outlets, after Milos Ninkovic was a victim to a dangerous tackle from Ben Kantarovski in round 27. The Serbian midfielder escaped serious injury and is free to play against Perth.
Sydney have enjoyed considerable success over Perth this season, winning all four games in the league and cup, scoring 13 and conceding just two. However, Bobo expects the Western Australians to be far stronger, having won three games in a row and keeping a clean sheet last week.
"They have a good team and that's why they're in the semi-finals. We just have to be focused and keep doing what we've been doing to win," he said.
