Frank Lampard says he would have relished the experience of a loan spell with Melbourne City FC if it had materialised.
Lampard, 36, agreed to join New York City FC last summer after leaving Chelsea, although their inaugural Major League Soccer season does not begin until March.
The midfielder then signed a short-term deal with Manchester City and, after playing for the club for the first half of the current campaign, he committed to spending the rest of it at the Etihad Stadium.
However, David Villa, another of NYC FC's designated players, instead had a brief stint in Australia with Melbourne -- another club in the City Football Group, along with the New York-based outfit and the Premier League champions.
"I wouldn't have had a problem with it," Lampard told Fox Sports, when asked if he would have liked to have joined Melbourne. "I've never been to Australia so it would have been a great experience in itself there, but it just didn't work out.
"This [spell at Manchester City] came along slightly after and I took the opportunity to carry on playing in the Premier League at a really competitive level."
Lampard has scored seven goals in 24 games for City, while Villa struck twice in his brief spell at Melbourne, where he played alongside former Chelsea player Damien Duff.
"I'm sure it might have been on the cards and the fact that David Villa went there [Melbourne] and played some games shows that there is a link and players maybe will be able to move, particularly when they need games like David and myself did at the time," Lampard added.
"I'm sure you enjoyed having [Villa] there and the quality he brought to the team and I know Damien Duff [from Chelsea], so I certainly wouldn't have had a problem to go to Melbourne. I would have enjoyed that challenge."