Wilshere was 'a week away' from retirement before Hodgson set up move to Denmark

The former Arsenal star joined Superliga club AGF Aarhus in February after some time away from the game, but that move wouldn't have been possible without the Watford boss and the club's masseur.

Wilshere has since returned from his stint in Europe, but has an offer to return, although he is yet to decide where his future lies.

Before the move to Denmark though, things were similarly up in the air, before Hodgson got involved.

Wilshere had left Bournemouth in 2021 and was weighing up his options at the start of the year, and then the option to play abroad popped up.

"I was talking to a few teams and then this came out of nowhere," he revealed on Drivetime.

"It was actually set up by Roy Hodgson who actually managed the manager who was there.

"He had a coach with him at Crystal Palace, Dave Reddington, And he went there in the summer, so he sort of set it up in the end.

"I was talking to a lot of clubs and then I just thought, I've been in this position for ages, I just need to make a decision and I thought, yeah, I'm gonna go.

"Roy was at Watford, I've got a good friend at Watford who is actually a masseur and he knew that I was friends with him and they got talking and it went from there."

Despite interest and links to various sides after departing Bournemouth, the former West Ham man ended his spell away from the game by picking the side that wanted him the most.

He said: "That [AGF] was the only concrete offer, there were others talking, I was probably only a week away from stopping [playing]."

The offer stands to return to Denmark, but 30-year-old Wilshere needs some thinking time as he admitted playing in a foreign country can be a 'lonely' experience.

When asked what he will do next he said: "That's a very good question, what do I want to do? I don't know. I need a couple of weeks."