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Central Coast Mariners fill Usain Bolt's position with Tommy Oar signing

Tommy Oar is set to join A-League club Central Coast Mariners after securing his exit from Cypriot club Apoel Nicosia -- news that is potentially bad for Usain Bolt.

Oar is a natural left-sided attacker, and the left wing is where eight-time Olympic sprint champion Bolt is hoping to carve out a spot in the team.

But regardless of whether Bolt actually realises his ambitious dream of becoming a professional footballer at age 32, the Mariners will have snared a proven A-League quantity in Oar.

He has been at Apoel since June last year but has terminated his contract with the assistance of Professional Footballers Australia, making him a free agent. 

"I would like to thank the staff and players at Apoel and wish them all the best for the future," Oar said in a statement released by the PFA on Friday.

"I thank the PFA for their support during this period, which has been invaluable." Oar burst onto the A-League scene as a teenager at Brisbane Roar in 2008 and quickly earned a move to Dutch side FC Utrecht, where he spent the next five seasons.

An ill-fated stint at Ipswich Town in England followed, before a brief return to the Roar and then his switch to Apoel, for whom he made 19 league appearances.

Central Coast are expected to confirm Oar's signing in the coming days.

And if coach Mike Mulvey can back it up by snaring former Melbourne City ace Ross McCormack, who is reportedly in talks with the Mariners as well, then the A-League battlers will have assembled their most potent squad on paper in some time.

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