Sydney FC youngster Chris Payne fears he may be forced out of the club if they decide to go after potential signings Robbie Fowler and Nick Carle.

The 19-year old striker, who enjoyed some success in the Sky Blues first team towards the end of the championship-winning season, believes if the club brings in either Fowler or Carle, he may have to choose to move on otherwise game time could become scarce.

''I'm not too sure if I'd get more game time at Sydney next season because it looks as though they want Nicky Carle and Fowler to go there,'' Payne told the Herald. ''That's now the main thing for me - I need to be playing regular football. I'm still very undecided about what to do at the moment, so I'm just going to wait and see what else comes up.''

Payne admitted he has been frustrated with Sydney's lack of urgency to sign him to a new deal and said he is definitely considering moving on, with Central Coast Mariners a potential landing pad.

''It was very frustrating,'' Payne added. ''They've taken a very long time to put together something - we asked them halfway through this season about next year.

''They said we'd talk about it but we didn't hear back from them until after the semi-final.

''Now most of the talk has gone on between the club and my manager and then it filters down to me.

''Yes, Sydney have put something out there but I honestly don't know what's going to happen. They just took so long to get back to me.

''I was born on the Central Coast, I grew up there and I still live there now,'' Payne said of a potential destination. ''I'd love to play for the Mariners. Having said that, I love playing for Sydney as well.

''I've spoken to the Mariners but there's been no concrete offers for the moment. I've also spoken to a few other clubs - they showed some interest back in the finals series, so there's a few things to look at.''