He's made only two senior appearances for Melbourne Victory, but promising attacker Pierce Waring is on the cusp of securing a move to J-League outfit Cerezo Osaka.
The 19-year-old scored against Shanghai SIPG in his sole start for Victory last season in the Asian Champions League and has caught the eye of the Japanese outfit.
Waring trialed with Cerezo in late May with a potential move made easier considering he has a Japanese passport through his mother.
Handed his A-League debut under Kevin Muscat in a four-minute cameo last season, Waring impressed in the National Youth League scoring six goals across seven appearances.
Those performances saw him earn a senior contract at Victory, a club that lost another promising young player in Christian Theoharous at the end of the season.
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Theoharous was picked up by German outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach and will play in their development side with Waring potentially set to join him on the departure list.
Cerezo's interest comes after reports star attacker Yoichiro Kakitani could make the move to crosstown rivals Gamba Osaka.
Approaching the halfway point of the J-League season, Cerezo sit fourth on table, only two points shy of second but 11 behind league leaders Sanfrecce.