Nix was born to English parents and returned to the UK to join the youth set up at Old Trafford and although he has represented England at youth level, he is now said to be keen to play for Australia.

The 25 year old midfielder left Villa to join Sheffield United but failed to break into the first team before kickstarting his career in the lower divisions at Buxton.

He finally got the chance to shine in regular game time at Bradford City where he notched up 63 first team games, scoring eight goals in his first season before joining Mansfield Town.

However the Blue Square Premier side this week had a clearout including coach Duncan Russell and left Nix without a club for next season.

Nix collected his Australia passport in 2008 when he returned Down Under for the first time since he was a child to coach youngsters. He briefly trialed with Sparta Rotterdam in 2010 but returned to Mansfield.

"He still has hopes of playing for Australia and they have [had] an Australian coach in their set-up," said Mansfield coach at the time, David Holdsworth.  

Nix may now consider a move to the A-League to showcase his talents in a last ditch attempt to force his way into Socceroos contention.