The 27-year-old, who featured in three Tests during the Ashes series in England last year, has spent two seasons with Queensland but is understood to be keen on linking up again with the Sheffield Shield champions in the city where he has spent nearly all his life.

Khawaja’s appearances for Australia at Lord’s, Old Trafford and Durham against England earned him an upgrade to a Cricket Australia deal, but he was not on last week's national selectors’ list of 18 who were given central contracts for the 2014/15 season.

The states have until Friday week to finalise their contract lists for next season and are boosted by an increase from $1.38 million to $1.5 million to their player payment pools, thanks to the $590 million broadcast arrangements struck by CA with channels Nine and Ten.

Khawaja, born in Pakistan but a Sydneysider since he was three, left for Queensland two years ago, looking for a fresh start under then Bulls coach Darren Lehmann in Brisbane.

It was said both he and Phil Hughes, who switched to South Australia in the same off-season, were not enjoying their cricket under then NSW coach Anthony Stuart.

The climate at the Blues now is far different. NSW are coming off their first Shield title since 2008 as well as a Ryobi Cup final, a campaign so successful that England are now headhunting coach Trevor Bayliss to take over their national job.

And the men pulling the strings at Driver Avenue, chairman John Warn and chief executive Andrew Jones, have made no secret of their desire to lure the likes of Khawaja and Hughes back to NSW, as they did last season with another of the state’s exports, Test spinner Nathan Lyon.

A product of the Randwick Petersham club, Khawaja has continued a presence in Sydney – playing for the Thunder in the Big Bash League – since his move north.