The 30-year-old is off contract and on his way out of the mid-table 2.Bundesliga club, where his relationship with coach Robin Dutt has soured significantly this season.

Kruse, who has 75 caps for his country but remains a divisive figure among some fans, made his last Bochum appearance in mid-February, starting in the 2-1 loss to Ingolstadt.

He hasn’t featured in a Bochum squad since, despite an indifferent run of results heaping pressure on Dutt to dig deeper into his available talent pool.

The genesis of the apparent fallout with Dutt harks back, according to sources in Germany, to early 2018 when Kruse was offered a lucrative contract by a J1 club in Japan, only to be told he was going nowhere.

He has made only 14 league appearances this season and scored once, as opposed to 2017-18 when he struck seven goals in 30 appearances.

Kruse has yet to receive any concrete offers elsewhere but is keeping all options open, including the Middle East, where fellow Socceroos Brad Jones, Milos Degenek, Mathew Jurman and Rhys Williams are based.

There is also the possibility of a deal in Japan, Korea Republic or even south-east Asia.

The prospect of an A-League return for the ex-Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar man is also on the wider agenda, with another contract in Europe not to be discounted either.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is keen to keep Kruse as part of his inner sanctum, as he begins preparations for the qualification campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

But that will only be possible if he is playing regular football once again.