Harlequins are closing in on the signing of Northampton and England full-back George Furbank as they look to turn the club around following an awful season.
The Londoners have won just two of 10 PREM Rugby games this term, producing a string of awful performances. Their latest defeat was a 34-7 home humbling by Leicester.
Furbank last week returned to England’s squad for the 2026 Six Nations. He has suffered with injury in the last year due to a broken arm but is now back fit. The 29-year-old is Northampton’s club captain and prior to his fitness issues, was an England regular.
But he is out of contract at the end of the season and now looks likely to swap the East Midlands for the capital. PREM leaders Northampton have already confirmed new deals for their England Test stars Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Alex Coles among others.
But their director of rugby Phil Dowson has had to balance his team’s spending cap given his leading international lights are now all top earners.
Furbank has been in talks with Harlequins over the New Year period and Daily Mail Sport understands a deal is now likely to be completed and announced in the coming weeks.
Harlequins are closing in on the signing of Northampton and England star George Furbank (left)
He is out of contract at the end of the season and now looks likely to secure a move to London
As good a player as Furbank is, Harlequins have shown this season that their soft underbelly needs to be hardened by the addition of some gnarly tight-five forwards.
The Stoop outfit have re-signed England back-row Chandler Cunningham-South on a lucrative deal, with Furbank set to be a leading new arrival.
Harlequins boss Jason Gilmore has said his players are playing for contracts for next season amid their ongoing struggles.
The fine form of George Hendy, who has impressed at No 15 when Furbank has been injured, means Northampton have strong cover even with a key man set to move on.
When asked about his team’s interest in Northampton’s academy product Furbank, Gilmore said: ‘George is a good player and a good leader. He’s going to attract interest. We’d be interested in any good player that fits in with our roster.’
Exeter’s Australian international flanker Tom Hooper is set for at least three weeks on the sidelines with the knee injury he suffered in his team’s 8-3 defeat by Bristol on Saturday.
Hooper was forced off in the first half at Sandy Park and left the ground with his knee in a brace. It is understood that Exeter anticipate Hooper has strained his medial collateral ligament – an injury that will lead to time out but is not a serious problem.
Exeter will hope to have Hooper back in action for when PREM action returns after the Six Nations at the end of March.
