LONDON — Saracens are hopeful of extending Maro Itoje's deal beyond its current expiry after next year's Rugby World Cup amid reported interest from Top 14 clubs that could put the England captain's Test career on hold. The second row, who has won 102 England caps since making his debut in the 2016 Six Nations, will be 33 by the end of the tournament and faces what may be his final chance to take up longstanding interest from across the Channel, with the Rugby Football Union's policy of not selecting overseas-based players meaning any move to France would put his Test career on hold.
Discussions are under way to extend Itoje's stay at Saracens, where he has been since he was a teenager and remained during their single season in the second-tier Championship after punishment for repeated breaches of the salary cap. French newspaper Midi-Olympique claims European champions Bordeaux-Begles and Perpignan are among those to have been alerted to his potential availability, while Paris-based Racing 92 have been credited with interest in Itoje in the past without a move transpiring. While Saracens are optimistic of reaching a new agreement, they are aware they are competing with Top 14 clubs with more spending power.
The headline salary cap in the French top flight stands at 11m euros (£9.2m), which is significantly higher than the Premiership's equivalent figure of £6.4m, and the Top 14 also benefits from a more lucrative broadcast deal than its English equivalent, with a blockbuster five-year agreement with Canal Plus coming into effect from next season. However, unlike in France, the English top flight allows one player at each club to sit outside the salary cap, in a so-called marquee spot, which may give Saracens more freedom to compete with overseas offers. By staying in England, Itoje would also be eligible for a central England contract, worth about £150,000 a year, and as part of an agreement between clubs and country he was rested for England's summer fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina after several seasons of heavy workload.
While a move to the Top 14 would remove international fixtures from Itoje's schedule, French top-flight rugby is arduous, with each club having 26 regular-season fixtures and the top six also qualifying for the Top 14's post-season play-offs, with European fixtures on top. England's policy of only picking players from domestic rugby — a key protection for the domestic game — has come under pressure recently, with Jack Willis, who represented England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, enjoying a stellar stint at Toulouse and winning the Top 14's player of the season award in each of the past two campaigns. Former England captain Courtney Lawes, who has returned to the Prem and Sale after two seasons with Brive, has said he believes the bar should be scrapped, while Ellis Genge, part of England's current leadership group, has also advocated a change.
The end of a Rugby World Cup cycle can be a convenient time for players to make a move abroad. Willis was joined by fellow England internationals Joe Marchant and David Ribbans in the Top 14 immediately after the 2023 tournament, while Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Kyle Sinckler, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May and Billy Vunipola made moves to France in the following summer.