Western Sydney Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer has had a private meeting with Central Coast Mariners coach Paul Okon to discuss the vacant manager role.
The Covert Agent can reveal the meeting occurred a few days ago, with Okon now a leading candidate for the job alongside Australian under 23 coach Josep Gombau.
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Lederer is believed to be a big fan of Okon, who hails from western Sydney, and sees him as a future coach of the club.
An offer of $200,000-a-year might be enough to tempt Okon, who is paid less than that amount in Gosford.
Okon's emergence as a possible option comes after Socceroos assistant coach Ante Milicic has been ruled out of the running, with the FFA keen to retain his services as part of the national team set-up.