Six England stars will quit Sarries
Disgraced club braced to lose English core
THE exodus at Saracens is gathering pace with six England internationals closing in on moves away from the relegated club.
Flanker Ben Earl, lock Nick Isiekwe, centre Alex Lozowski, hooker Jack Singleton and scrum-half Ben Spencer are all in advanced talks with Premiership rivals.
Lions star George kruis is considering a move to Japan, where the 29-year-old lock could command a deal worth around £500,000 a year.
Sportsmail can reveal the likely destinations of all the ambitious capped stars, who have been advised that playing in the Championship will harm their international prospects.
EARL (right), who made his England debut last week, is close to a loan move to Bristol, where he will join their new A-list recruits Kyle Sinckler and Semi Radradra.
ISIEKWE has held talks with Gloucester but Sale is his most likely destination.
LOZOWSKI has been the subject of interest from Bath and Gloucester but Sale are also favourites to land the five-cap midfielder.
SINGLETON has been earmarked by Leicester, who could not afford Jamie George so have turned their attention to his understudy.
SPENCER is close to agreeing a move to Bath. They looked at fellow No 9s Rhys Webb and Ali Price before the Englishman became available.
Any moves will be finalised over the coming days and weeks, with some negotiations stalling because Saracens have insisted on loan moves rather than permanent deals.
Saracens are expecting their Lions stars — George, Elliot Daly, owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola and Mako Vunipola — to stay and take up part-sabbatical arrangements.
World Cup- winning prop
Vincent koch is also considering spending a year in the second tier, although Sale and Bath have both expressed interest in signing the Springbok star.
While a number of star players could stay put, Saracens are resigned to losing the bulk of their ‘squeezed middle’ as a result of the salary cap scandal.
‘A lot of guys are still on the fence but will probably make a final decision next week,’ one source told Sportsmail.
However, it is understood that Earl’s switch to Bristol and Spencer’s move to Bath are at the most advanced stage of negotiations.
It is welcome news for England coach Eddie Jones, whose playing resources will take a hit if his developing squad players do not have highly competitive game-time on a weekly basis.
Saracens’ overseas stars are also considering their futures and the club have put out a mandate for reinforcements worth between £50,000 and £80,000 a year. Welshman Liam Williams has already agreed a transfer to the Scarlets but his move could be fast-tracked after the Six Nations. Having made his Wales debut this month, centre Nick Tompkins is holding talks about a move to the Scarlets. Promising English lock Joel kpoku had agreed terms with Northampton but he has reneged on the move in anticipation of the exit of kruis or Will Skelton. Sportsmail understands that 36-year-old scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth is considering a return home to Sale, possibly on a coaching deal. Meanwhile, Ben Youngs is close to agreeing a pay cut in the region of £150,000 to stay at Leicester. DAI YoUNG has left Wasps after nine years as director of rugby, it was confirmed yesterday. The former Wales prop, 52, said: ‘It will be tough to leave a club and group of people that has meant so much to me over the past decade.’