England five-eighth Danny Cipriani could be on his way to Australia, with Super 15 new boys Melbourne Rebels targeting a move for the talented playmaker.

Rebels coach Rod MacQueen spoke to Cipriani in London last week and although the franchise have not yet made a formal offer to the 21-year-old, who is off contract with London Wasps in May, he admitted early discussions were positive.

"We have just come back and interviewed around 25 players over there and he was one of them and we really haven't gone any further than that, it is very early days but he was keen to hear what we had to say," Macqueen told AAP.

"Danny is on our radar, he is a player we are looking at but we won't be making him an offer just yet."

The Rebels are unable to sign any Australian-based players until June, when the Super 14 season is completed.

And although Macqueen said the ruling is frustrating, the new franchise is desperate to ensure all of their recruitment is in place so they can unveil a strong line-up for the 2011 season.

"We want to sign players as soon as possible and that is not an easy thing, the sooner we can get people to sign the better," he said.

"From our point of view we need to have everything ready and complete by then so we can be fully prepared for the new season."

Despite having talks with a number of players in the UK, Macqueen said there is no plan to flood the team with foreign players.

"We are only looking to get a maximum of five players from overseas the rest will be Australian," he said.

"I don't think it is a big a deal to have a high-profile team in Melbourne, more to be successful as the public down there will always follow winners so it is important to have a team with a culture.

"Melbourne offers something a bit different ... the community does back sport and it has a profile around the world and we want players to experience it."

Cipriani, who is rated as one of the best young talents in English rugby, has fallen down the international pecking order after falling out of favour with coach Martin Johnson following a disappointing Six Nations campaign last year.

Questions marks have also been raised about his life away from the field where he is involved in a high-profile relationship with actress Kellie Brook.

Cipriani has often been in the headlines for the wrong reasons and was also dropped ahead of his Test debut in 2008 after visiting a nightclub 48 hours before a match against Scotland at Twickenham.

He was also involved in a training ground punch-up last year with former Wasps and England teammate Josh Lewsey.

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