On the move?

January has arrived and with that comes lots of transfer gossip as players who are out of contract in the summer are now free to talk to other clubs about possible moves.

Now that doesn’t mean players and their agents haven’t been exploring other options up until now. What it does mean however, is players are now officially permitted to talk to other clubs allowing more stories to leak without any worries.

Sometime it’s just a player using his agent and the media to get a better contract from his club. But more often than not these guys are on the move and looking to finalise their destination for next season as soon as possible so they can focus on their rugby for the rest of the current campaign.

Here’s what people are saying….

Ian Keatley, Munster to Benetton.
The Munster outhalf is out of contract at the end of the season and has signed a deal with Italian side Benetton according to Donn O’Sullivan in the Limerick Leader. A number of other sources have confirmed this so it looks like we can trust this deal is happening.

Jaco Taute, Munster to Leicester Tigers.
Another Munster man who looks set to pack his bags this summer. According to The42.ie, the South African centre is off to Leicester Tigers as they look to bring someone in to replace Matt Toomua who’s heading back to Australia in the summer. The move makes sense for all involved as he’s falling way down the pecking order at the Irish province after a tough time with injury.

Paddy Jackson, Perpignan to London Irish.
The former Ulster and Ireland outhalf looks destined to leave the French outfit who look almost certain to be relegated even at this stage of the season. A move to London Irish, who look to be heading in the other direction back to the Premiership would be a great move for Jackson. RugbyPass reckon a deal is almost done, with Jackson set to once again play under Declan Kidney and Les Kiss.

Cian Kelleher, Connacht to Leinster.
The Irish winger has confirmed he will leave the western province at the end of the season but his destination is yet to be confirmed. Multiple sources suggest he will return to former club Leinster and fight for a place.

Rhys Priestland, Bath to Welsh Region.
Bath released a statement yesterday to say they would not be renewing Priestland’s contract and that he is free to leave over the summer. The talk is that the former Scarlets man will look to head back to Wales with the Dragons an obvious choice.

Jonathan Joseph, Bath to Northampton Saints.
With the Saints desperately seeking a quality replacement for Rob Horne following his unfortunate career-ending injury, head coach Chris Boyd has been on the hunt. According to RugbyPass a deal to bring England international Jonathan Joseph is close, but Bath boss Todd Blackadder is confident he can keep the centre. Bristol are also said to have sounded him out. This will be an interesting one to follow regardless. Saints have also been linked with Ryan Crotty, Springbok Jesse Kriel and Hurricanes centre Matt Proctor.

Kieran Read, Crusaders to Toyota Verblitz.
The All Blacks captain has already made it clear he will leave New Zealand after the Rugby World Cup. Racing 92 have been linked with the back-row, but according to French rugby website Rugby Rama – Read is set to sign for Japanese club Toyota Verblitz.

Ryan Crotty, Crusaders to Kubota Spears.
All Blacks centre Ryan Crotty will also head to Japan after the Rugby World Cup and is set to sign with the Kubota Spears club, once again according to French rugby website Rugby Rama.

Dane Coles & Aaron Smith, New Zealand to Japan.
All Blacks hooker Coles and scrumhalf Aaron Smith have also been linked with moves to Japan following the Rugby World Cup.