HARRY Kewell could have been turning out in the red and white stripes of Melbourne Heart for the second Victorian team's A-League debut season had club officials been prepared to meet his extraordinary wage and other demands.

As news broke that Melbourne Victory was one of a number of A-League clubs linked with the possible signing of the ageing Socceroo superstar for next season - with his home-town team Sydney and Newcastle touted as other potential destinations - it emerged that Kewell had been made available last season to Heart and other clubs.

Harry Kewell... had been made available last season to Heart and other clubs. Credit:Reuters

Talks did take place but Heart chiefs baulked at a wage request of $2.5 million a year plus a string of ancillary demands, includingKARACHI, Pakistan — Security officials moved swiftly here to round up as many as eight associates of Faisal Shahzad, the American citizen of Pakistani origin who faces terrorism charges after admitting his role in a failed car-bomb attack Saturday night in Times Square.

In a series of raids that stretched into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday in this southern port city, friends and several family relatives were picked up for questioning, Pakistani authorities told the national media here.

A relative of the suspect, Kifayat Ali, said in an interview with GlobalPost at a family home in Peshawar that: “None of the family members have ever been involved with any Jihadi organization.”

“This is a conspiracy against all Pashtun people,” he said, adding: “It will be confirmed just in a few hours