Cooper knocks back Toulon option: report

Quade Cooper's return to Australian rugby appears a step closer, with the Wallabies playmaker knocking back a second-year option at French club Toulon.

Less than a week after Wallabies coach Michael Cheika admitted he was actively working to get him back, Cooper has rejected an offer for 2017 from Toulon president Mourad Boudjella, according to French sports newspaper L'Equipe.

Cooper has had a disrupted first season with the glamour club, having also fitted in a failed attempt to make Australia's Rugby Sevens for the Rio Olympics.

With fellow Wallaby Matt Giteau the first-choice five eighth, Cooper has struggled for game time and has also played out of position at fullback.

A return to the Queensland Reds looks the most likely option and the Reds have made it clear they would welcome him back.

"If the desire's there... we don't like to comment until things are solidifying, but there's obviously room," Reds general manager Daniel Herbert said last Friday.