Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Ante Covic has left the club and will join Swedish outfit Elfsborg.

The 33-year old has signed a three-year deal with the club and is expected to depart Australia this week.

It turned out that Elfsborg were able to buy out the remainder of Covic's contract because he is over 28 and has been at the club for more than two years.

"Our hands are tied," Jets chief executive John Tsatsimas said.

"At the end of the day, provided Elfsborg come up with the appropriate compensation, it becomes an automatic trigger because he is over 28 years of age. Because he has been here more than two years the club that comes in can automatically buy out his contract."

Covic said he is excited about the move.

"Elfsborg are one of the top clubs in Sweden," Covic said.

"They finished second last year, won it the year before and are playing in the UEFA Cup. It is a three-year deal.

"Things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped," he added.

"I know I said I was fairly close, but the more it went on the further apart it got.

"If everything had been sweet before the China game, I would have signed, but there were a couple of things were not on, and that is when the Swedish club came in. It was all done very quickly."