Adelaide United coach Josep Gombau has appealed to linchpins Marcelo Carrusca and Jon McKain to accept new deals with the A-League club.
Several rival clubs are circling the duo, though Gombau desperately wants both to stay in Adelaide.
Brilliant Argentine Carrusca, regarded among the premier players in the league, rejected Adelaide's initial offer and a revised deal is now on the table.
"Now he is thinking and in the next days he's needs to make an answer," Gombau told reporters on Thursday.
"It is what the club can afford.
"Now is the time that he needs to decide ... in the end, it's a player decision.
"We want him to stay because he's an important player for us."
Sydney FC are reportedly among clubs bidding for Carrusca, while McKain, capped 16 times for the Socceroos, is also considering an offer to remain in Adelaide.
"I have obviously got to think about it, but I would love to stay," McKain told reporters on Thursday.
Brisbane-born McKain had stints with Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix, and also in Romania and Saudi Arabia, before joining Adelaide in 2011.
The central defender was appointed captain for the 2011-12 season but was stripped of the role midseason when Adelaide changed coaches from Rini Coolen to John Kosmina.
"I hope and wish that he will stay but now is the moment for his thinking," Gombau said.
"He is a player that is very important for us because of his experience in the back. He is the player, for me, who is the leadership in the back."
