The club and Ashton said that have reached a mutual agreement regarding the termination of his Sale Sharks contract and he will leave the club immediately.

Ashton joined Sale in the summer of 2018 following a hugely successful season in France with Toulon where he broke the Top 14 try-scoring record with England boss Eddie Jones immediately recalling him for international duty.

But Ashton didn’t travel to the World Cup, pulling out of Englan’s training squad for family reasons before Jones named his 31-man squad for Japan.

“Sale Sharks would like to thank Chris for his efforts whilst at the club and wish him and his family all the best for the future,” a statement read.

No word yet on where Ashton will be heading next but there have been some rumours going around that he could potentially end up at Harlequins.