Bath and England centre Jonathan Joseph is at the centre of a four-way tug war between Northampton Saints and three Gallagher Premiership rivals.
The England outside-centre, who is out of contract with Bath at the end of the season, has according to The Rugby Paper held talks with Northampton Saints after talks of a new deal on the south coast stalled.
However, Saints aren’t the only club that is interested with Bath reportedly wanting to keep the 27-year-old while Bristol Bears and Leicester Tigers are also though to still be keen on acquiring his services.
Joseph is seen as a potential replacement for Luther Burrell, while All Blacks star Ryan Crotty and Springbok powerhouse Jesse Kriel are also on the shortlist to replace the departing centre.
The former England international, who was infamously left out of Stuart Lancaster’s Rugby World Cup squad in favour of convert flop Sam Burgess, will likely move to France at the end of the season.