Piorkowski, 24, was released by Melbourne Victory at the end of last season. In the last two weeks he's been training with Newcastle Jets and is hopeful of signing a deal with the season three champions.

In between, he enjoyed a spell in the UK trialing with two clubs: Derby County then Walsall.

"It's been a fantastic experience, actually quite eye-opening," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

The former Melbourne Knight popped up at what is fast becoming an Australian stronghold, Derby County.

"[Socceroo] Mile Sterjovski was great while I was there," said Piorkowski. "His family was away at the time so we hung out a lot and he showed me around Derby. Ruben [Zadkovich] was at the Olympics.

"You can see he's a starting XI player. He's highly regarded and the club is so professional."

One player in particular caught his eye at Pride Park: "Robbie Savage, you can see he's played at a higher level.

"It's interesting because he's such a fiery player on the pitch, but off it he's incredibly laidback.

"And there was this little Argentine striker, very nuggety. You just couldn't get him off the ball."

Derby didn't offer him a contract but the Melbournian went onto Walsall in England's League One.

"Obviously they were not as big as Derby but still their facilities were incredible," he added.

"I was a bit unlucky with the way their budget worked out but it was still a fantastic experience."

He's hoping at the least a short-term contract arises locally if nothing eventuates with the Jets.

Piorkowski is out of contract, so he does not have to wait for the January transfer window. He can be picked up at any time.

So he'll continue to train on his own ("I'm pretty disciplined that way") and he may do pre-season with one of the VPL clubs.

He added: "It's wait and see at the moment. Maybe a short-term deal here for injury cover or something overseas. Who knows?

"But I'm glad I went overseas. You only have one football career so I'm glad I did it.

"You don't want to leave anything in the tank when you finish."