Key Saracens duo could be en route
Bath Rugby are reported to be closing in on a pair of deals to bring two key Saracens stars to The Rec ahead of next season.
The Blue, Black and Whites are reported to be leading the chase to sign England international centre Alex Lozowski and scrum-half Ben Spencer.
Lozowski, 26, is a highly experienced operator at Premiership and European Heineken Champions Cup level having been at Saracens since 2016 and Wasps before that.
At 26-years-old the five cap England international, who can play at centre, fly-half, wing and full-back looks to be entering his peak years making him an enticing prospect for directors of rugby up and down the land.
With the talented and versatile playmaker looking to earn his way back into Eddie Jones’ international reckoning having not feature for the national side since 2018 he is understood to be looking for a way out of Saracens who have been relegated to the Championship next season as further punishment for breaching the salary cap for the last four campaigns including this one. With Jamie Roberts leaving Bath in January for Super Rugby side the Stormers, and his replacement Josh Matavesi signed only until the end of the season, Lozowski could well be being lined up as direct long-term replacement in the 12 or 13 shirt with Jackson Willison’s future also undecided.
However with fly-half Freddie Burns and full-back Tom Homer also out of contract at the end of season Lozowski would be an able replacement for any one of them due to his remarkable versatility.
The Rugby Paper report Lozowski was spotted in Bath last week and director of rugby Stuart Hooper is in pole position to sign him on a permanent deal despite interest from around the Gallagher Premiership, including Gloucester, Wasps and Sale Sharks.
Lozowski is reported to have put pen to paper on a new deal at Saracens just before the salary cap scandal news broke and the defending Premiership and European champions are reported to be holding out for a £100,000 transfer fee for the back who started his career at Hooper’s old club Yorkshire Carnegie.
Meanwhile the Bath Chronicle understands scrum-half Spencer, who was flown out to play for England off the bench in the World Cup final defeat to South Africa in the Autumn, is also closing in on joining Bath.
Hooper’s side have been linked with scrum-halves repeatedly this season with Will Chudley out of contract at the end of 2019/20. The Blue, Black and Whites had been linked with Ospreys and Wales number nine Aled Davies but sources across the border report that deal has gone cold due to the availability of Spencer.
Like Lozowski, Spencer, 27, is understood to be looking to remain in the Gallagher Premiership to stay in international contention and add to his four caps, with the sparky nine the heir apparent for the England berth with 30-year-old Ben Youngs and 33-year-old Willi Heinz both unlikely to make the next World Cup in France.