The 36-year-old has been considering his options and seemed to prefer a return to Australia's A-League only for a potential deal with the Central Coast Mariners to fall through.

"That would have been my ambition, to come back here," Yorke said. "I felt this year would have been the year to come back and stamp my authority in terms of playing football and getting the football buzzing around Sydney again."

Yorke claimed he had been in talks with the Mariners for a year and continued to drop his asking price.

"My last conversation (with the Mariners) was, 'yeah, we'll get it sorted'. We looked at a figure that was reasonable for them, it wasn't great for me but I was prepared to come for that," Yorke said.

But Mariners chief executive Lyall Gorman said Yorke had always been "out of our realm".

Yorke – who has something of a playboy reputation in Australia after his previous stay with Sydney – insists he still has plenty to offer on the field.

"Sunderland has offered me a contract because they know I can still produce it," he said. "I'm 36 and I'm coming to the end of my career. I'm looking for something with a bit more flavour – in terms of lifestyle, the weather, people and food. Sydney fits that bill."

But with no deal forthcoming Down Under, Yorke looks certain to re-sign for Sunderland and have one final fling at a Premier League season.

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