Henry Pollock open to overseas offers as Saints contract talks drag on

Henry Pollock has left the door open to leaving Northampton Saints. The back-row forward — the loose forwards who carry, tackle and fight for the ball on the floor — says he is open to offers from elsewhere, including overseas, and is weighing up his future, according to the BBC.

His current Saints deal runs out at the end of the forthcoming season. It is thought to be worth about £150,000 a year. An England central contract, a direct deal with the national set-up that sits on top of club wages, adds about another £150,000 a year.

Saints have reportedly offered him a new contract worth £400,000 a year. That would be a big jump. It still falls well short of seven figures.

That number matters. Pollock added boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to his advisory team earlier this year. Hearn has described him as a seven-figure player. Pollock himself says he wants to live in different countries and explore new sports and avenues.

Money talks louder outside England. The Premiership salary cap, the league-wide limit on what clubs can spend on their squads, stands at £6.4m. A player who moves between Premiership clubs cannot be classed as a marquee player, whose wages sit outside the cap. France and Japan have no such ceiling in the same way.

There is a catch. A player becomes ineligible for England as soon as he starts playing his club rugby overseas. Pollock has spoken before of having unfinished business with England and the British and Irish Lions.

Northampton are not panicking in public. Director of rugby Phil Dowson said the club is getting closer to agreeing an extension with Pollock. Saints tied down England fly-half Fin Smith to a new deal in October.

For supporters, this is familiar and uncomfortable. Keep your brightest young star, or lose him to a bigger cheque and a different life. Pollock is 21, fast, abrasive and box office. Saints know it. Rival clubs know it. Now overseas clubs know he is listening.