England international Henry Pollock could be set for a shock rugby code switch, with top rugby league sides reportedly monitoring his situation amid speculation around his next move.
The 21-year-old's future has become the subject of much discussion in recent days, after his agent Eddie Hearn claimed Northampton Saints must recognise his commercial worth and make him a "seven-figure player" if they want to keep him at the club. While the boxing promoter says Pollock is keen to stay at Northampton, he believes his current salary of £150,000 is "outrageous".
Interest from rugby league
Less than a handful of players in world rugby command a salary of £1 million or more, but with Pollock one of the sport's fastest rising stars, Hearn's comments are likely to have put wealthy clubs on alert.
Now, it appears that there is also interest from outside rugby union, with City AM reporting that a number of top-flight rugby league clubs are now monitoring the young flanker. The publication reports that the chief executive of one unnamed Super League club has a "long-standing relationship with the Hearn family" and is a "big fan of Pollock... in particular his off-field profile".
The unnamed chief reportedly added that his club would "get a free hit on the salary cap" if they brought Pollock on board, with Super League clubs getting dispensation on wages if they sign union players that have never played league professionally.
Potential bidding war
If a shock move were to materialise, Pollock would be the most high-profile England international to cross from union to league. However, such a switch is not unusual, with Christian Wade signing for Wigan Warriors last year in between spells with Gloucester Rugby and Newcastle Red Bulls.
Former England centre Luther Burrell also turned out for Warrington Wolves between 2019 and 2020, while international wing Chris Ashton is among those to have moved the other way, switching from league to union in 2005.
The potential bidding war for Pollock comes after Hearn doubled down on the comments he made about his client's salary during a recent interview with The Telegraph.
Hearn's comments
"They asked me, 'do you think it is fair what he is making at the moment?' and I said, 'no, I think it is outrageous'," he told The Independent.
"He's playing over 30 games a year, getting battered in every game, every training session, he's got the whole rugby world trying to attack him on sight on the rugby pitch.
"Everybody is talking about him. He's 21, he's in the England team, he's in the Lions team, he's just won a championship," Hearn added. "Every kid wants to be Henry Pollock, every kid wants to buy the Henry Pollock shirt, people are buying season tickets to watch him, buying TNT to watch him."
