Newcastle Red Bulls have reportedly made a stunning move for Northampton Saints and England star Henry Pollock with a huge offer said to meet the £1m-a-year demand of his agent Eddie Hearn.
The Red Bull-backed Premiership club have tabled a lucrative package for Pollock, according to RugbyPass, with the young star entering the final year of his contract at Franklin’s Gardens and now free to discuss his future with rival clubs.
Challenge to Northampton's retention hopes
It represents a major challenge to Northampton's hopes of retaining one of the brightest young players in English rugby and comes just 24 hours after Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson insisted he was confident Pollock would remain with the club.
Dowson admitted Northampton needed to find a "happy medium" between their desire to keep Pollock and the financial realities of building a squad within the Premiership's salary-cap restrictions.
"The appetite is for him to stay. Now we've got to find a happy medium. We really want to keep him. He really wants to stay, and that's a great start," Dowson said.
"We still have to make decisions based on our budget and our financial situation.
"We'll continue to do that in the best way possible. That is in discussion with agents, discussions with the group and discussions with the decision-makers about what we can afford and how we put a squad together, how that fits within our budget."
Backloaded three-year deal
But Newcastle are now testing that resolve with an offer that would make Pollock their marquee player.
The proposal is said to be a backloaded three-year deal, with his salary increasing over the course of the contract before he becomes a headline marquee player for the Red Bulls in 2029.
The package would also see Pollock become part of Red Bull's stable of brand ambassadors, adding a significant commercial element to the offer.
Pollock, 21, has rapidly developed into one of the most recognisable young players in English rugby. He has won 13 England caps and is one of 25 players benefiting from an enhanced England contract worth £150,000 a year.
Agent's valuation claims
Hearn, who represents Pollock through his Matchroom Talent Agency, previously made it clear that he believes the England star is being dramatically undervalued by Northampton.
Speaking about his client's situation, Hearn said: "Northampton have to recognise what they have got.
"It is all very well saying that there might be players who are a bit more consistent or might be better or whatever, but there aren't players that are making an unquestionable and undeniable difference to the bottom line of the club.
"Henry Pollock drives season ticket sales. Henry Pollock puts bums on the seats. Henry Pollock drives viewership on TNT or wherever it's going to be. Henry Pollock sells shirts.
"That's the difference. So you can actually put an economic value over having Henry Pollock on the team, and that has to be recognised, regardless of the want from Henry. He cannot stay at this club on the money that he's on."
Hearn also claimed Pollock could earn "10 times" his current salary elsewhere.
His comments came despite Pollock's own preference appearing to be to remain at Northampton, where he has established himself as a key player and helped the Saints win the Premiership title.
Dowson acknowledged that Hearn was simply doing his job by attempting to maximise his client's value, while also stressing that Pollock himself wants to remain at Franklin's Gardens.
"My job is to try and fit 57, 58 players within a squad on a budget. I'll continue to do that," Dowson said.
"Eddie Hearn is great for the game, we want to keep Henry Pollock. Fundamentally, nothing has changed. What he says is based on his job.
"Eddie Hearn has a job to do, and that is to promote his client and ask for more money for his client. He's doing both of those very effectively."
Now, though, Newcastle have seemingly provided Hearn and Pollock with a potential route to the kind of money the agent has been talking about.
The Red Bulls have been aggressively pursuing major signings since their takeover of Newcastle and have the financial backing to make an offer that would be difficult for Saints to match while operating within their budget and the Premiership salary cap.
