Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere is looking for a fresh start abroad and a move to the A-League could be just what he's after.
The English midfielder has been without a club since parting ways with Bournemouth at the end of last season and no sides have come calling in the months since.
Wilshere has struggled with injuries over the past few years and has made just 37 appearances across the past three seasons in all competitions.
As a result, interest in the 29-year-old has dried up considerably and he recently revealed a desire to move overseas having previously only played on home soil.
"I want to go abroad, try something different. I think it’ll be good for me, for my life, my family," Wilshere told The Athletic.
"Have a fresh start somewhere where people don’t think, ‘That’s Jack Wilshere. He’s going to get injured today.'
"My next move is not about, ‘I need to make money’. It’s about the feeling I’ve got inside, and I’m not just talking about when I was growing up, loving football.
"It’s about trying to get that feeling back of having something to fight for, having those ups and downs in football."
While Major League Soccer (MLS) is often where players like Wilshere end up, a move to the A-League looms as a real possibility and would arguably provide Wilshere a much fresher start.
Unlike in MLS where he'd be just another fading star, Wilshere would be the A-League's most high-profile signing in some time with fans likely to attend matches just to get a glimpse of him.
The less demanding nature of the competition should also appeal to the injury-hit midfielder with players generally only required to play one game a week.
With a family to look out for, both Australia and New Zealand are ideal destinations with the two countries containing COVID-19 better than most around the world despite recent Delta outbreaks.
Wilshere has already attracted interest from the A-League too so a fresh bid for him is well within the realms of possibility.
Western Sydney Wanderers reportedly made a move for Wilshere last season and a second offer could prove even harder to turn down as he desperately seeks that fresh start.
"My contacts over there tell me he’s had an approach from Western Sydney Wanderers," talkSPORT's Alex Crook said in November last year.
"They’re a big club over there by all accounts, rich with cash. They’re managed by former Wales and Portsmouth player Carl Robinson.
"They do have salary cap regulations there, but Jack Wilshere would have bypassed them, he would be classed as a marquee player.
"He’s turned down that move and it’s my understanding that MLS is his preferred destination."
The current MLS season is however already past its halfway mark making the timing for a move now far from ideal.
The new A-League season, meanwhile, is set to start on October 31 giving Wilshere an ideal window to prepare and get himself back on the pitch in a competition where he'll be savoured and not mocked.