Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Smeltz may return to A-League

Updated at 8:32 am on 17 July 2010

All Whites striker Shane Smeltz has reportedly reneged on his move to Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng and is on his way back to Australia and the A-League.

The Gold Coast Bulletin News says the New Zealand international decided after just five days in China that it would be impossible for wife Nikki and his two children to settle in the sprawling metropolis of Jinan, which is south of Beijing.

So he's set to rejoin his A-League club Gold Coast United.

The Bulletin News quotes a Football Federation Australia source as confirming that since Smeltz's International Transfer Clearance form was never dispatched by United so he's free to rejoin them without any possibility of an international tug-of-war over his services.

Smeltz's former club, the Wellington Phoenix, has lost 2-0 at Adelaide United in a pre-season friendly on Friday night.

The Phoenix's next opposition, Argentine super club Boca Juniors, also beat Melbourne Victory 1-0.

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