SARACENS back Alex Lozowski is heading to play in France next season after agreeing to a one-year contract with Toulouse.
The England international who was being chased by Bath, has opted to make the move across the Channel instead of continuing his career in the Premiership.
The 26-year-old son of former Wasps and England centre Rob moved to Saracens in 2016 after a two-year stint with his dad's former club.
But he has been linked with a number of clubs since it was confirmed that Saracens would be relegated from the Premiership for breaches of the salary cap.
Sale Sharks and former club Wasps were the early front runners for Lozowski and he even took a tour of the Rec before opting for a deal with Toulouse.
He will be the latest player to leave the Premiership champions for next season with Gloucester having signed up Jack Singleton, left.
Meanwhile Bristol have agreed to loan Ben Earl and Max Malins from Saracens for a season and England lock Nick Isiekwe is heading to Northampton Saints.
A number of other Saracens players have either already left the club or will be leaving on a permanent basis whenever the Premiership season ends.
And with relegation to the Championship beckoning for the London club, director of rugby Mark McCall has lent his backing to Saracens' crop of emerging young players.
“Given that we haven't picked many of our international players for many of our league games and everything that's going on behind the scenes, I can't speak more highly of our playing group, the positives for us this year is just how many younger players have got exposure and have relished their chances and opportunities,” McCall said earlier this month.
“We had a nice balance in the team between some experienced players who fronted up and some younger players who are on the start of their journeys.”
NEIL FISSLER
