Wales and Scarlets winger George North is in talks over a possible move to Northampton Saints for next season.
The 20-year old, who is expected to tour with the Lions in Australia at the end of the season, has a year remaining on his contract with the Scarlets, meaning any transfer would require a fee.
Northampton have already recruited Alex Corbisiero, Salesi Ma'afu and Kahn Fotuali'i for next season, with North potentially the next star name on the list of recruits.
"There has been an approach between the two clubs to discuss a possible transfer," said North's agent Christian Abt to the BBC.
"I don't think it will drag on too long.
"I think these things need to happen quite quickly if it's going to happen so that each party knows where they stand.
"It's counter-productive to sort of drag on and for the player as well to know where he will be, so ideally I'm sure it will resolve itself in the next couple of weeks."
"Unfortunately it's been well documented it's been difficult time for some of the Welsh regions financially," he said.
"They are looking at ways to find to work within a business model which makes financial sense for themselves to go forward and be sustainable in this current market.
"George is under contract for another year at the Scarlets and as far as I'm aware there's ongoing discussions between [Scarlets] and possibly a few other parties... with regards to a possibility of George moving on from the summer.
"There has been interest from [other] Premiership outfits as well as French clubs expressing an interest in to when he might be out of contract.
"It's not something that we've really actively pursued, it's very much a case of understanding where he is in terms of the situation in Wales and trying to ensure that whatever happens in going forward is in his best interest in order to progress his career."
Comments
melkdave says...
Well this is what happens ,when a clubs bread and butter matches are meaningless,fans dont come out to support the team ,and its revenue suffers.The longrer the Pro 12 is just viewed as a preparation for the HC ,which welsh clubs havent had success in at all .The worst the situation wll become
Posted 23:25 20th March 2013
makemehappy says...
Shame for him if he has to move, as the Scarlets have a great backline and have a good young pack. Two or three buys and they would be strong candidates for HC quarter final qualification.
Posted 12:29 20th March 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
@papachinzo. Why?!?
Posted 10:36 20th March 2013
lawynd says...
@papachinzo - I'm no lover of Saints as a Leicester fan but what on earth makes you say that? The Saints backs are a prolific try scoring unit, playing with Ben Foden and the Pisi brothers and he will learn a lot there in a winning team. As much as I enjoy watching Scarlets play there's a limit to their talent and ability and if he wants to be the best he has to make that step up at some point.
Posted 09:50 20th March 2013
papachinzo says...
A career ending move right there.
Posted 19:29 19th March 2013