New York Cosmos Head Coach and newly appointed Sporting Director Giovanni Savarese turned heads last month, telling Spanish outlet Canal+ that his ideal star signing would be former Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez.

There may be some substance behind his open flirtations.

Sources close to the New York Cosmos and the NASL tell EOS that Raul has sent out feelers showing interest in joining the legendary club.

“We do know there is some interest on his part and his agent in the possibility to come to New York,” a league source with deep knowledge of the situation tells EOS. “(The Cosmos) know about his interest in the possibility to play as well.”

Raul, 36, is currently finishing off a lucrative, multi-million dollar one-year contract with Qatari side Al Sadd. That deal is said to be ending sometime in April. A Cosmos source reveals that the legendary striker is on their short list of candidates this offseason, though his current employment makes negotiations an impossibility.

EOS reached out to Savarese to expound on the situation, starting with his initial comments.

“First of all, it was an interview in Spain. One of the questions was what kind of player would you be interested (in) if you could find one right now. I mentioned Raul because of everything he represents, without also having any conversation (with him),” he tells EOS. “We just answered a question about the model of the type of player that we look for in our club.

“With Raul, he is under contract right now with his current club. We did not talk to the player.”

Savarese would not confirm nor deny his interest in Raul, but did say the club remained vigilant, searching for another star player to join their ranks.

“We definitely remain interested in the possibility to bring a player that brings the same qualities as a Marcos Senna – inside the field as well as off the field,” he said. “We have several names we are working with that we are very interested in.

“We will see if we can bring in another player. That is our hope and our goal and we continue to work with that.”