Henry Pollock now one step closer to signing for Newcastle Red Bulls

According to RugbyPass, Newcastle have put forward a huge three-year deal for Pollock that is understood to match Eddie Hearn’s valuation of £1 million per year for one of the brightest young players in English rugby.

The back-rower is represented by Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency, which also has Bath and Scotland fly-half Finn Russell among its rugby clients, as well as high-profile names from other sports, including UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall.

Speaking to The Telegraph at the start of August, Hearn argued that Northampton could no longer value Pollock in the same way they would a typical young player.

Since then, Pollock has also been linked with a switch to rugby league and a potential move overseas, where salary restrictions are less restrictive. However, a transfer to another PREM Rugby club would represent a major development.

With strict salary cap regulations in place, a deal worth £1 million per year would likely require Pollock to fill a marquee player position. Northampton already have one of those spots occupied by England fly-half Fin Smith.

Pollock would reportedly become Newcastle's marquee player under the proposed deal, with the Red Bulls yet to fill that position.

As a result, his salary would sit outside the club's salary cap, while Red Bull is also said to be considering an ambassadorial role that could provide him with significant earnings away from his playing contract.

The speculation surrounding Pollock's future has continued to grow, with Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson addressing the situation just yesterday.

Dowson also spoke about the negotiations with Pollock and insisted that the attention surrounding the young England star could ultimately be positive for the game.

Speaking about contract negotiations yesterday, Dowson said, "It’s going well.

We’re still pushing it through and what Eddie Hearn also said, was that Henry wants to win stuff, Henry wants to stay at Northampton, Henry wants to play with that group of players, Henry’s enjoying himself and understands that we can talk about it but we’ve got to perform.

“He wants to win the World Cup, he wants to do all these things, I embrace that and I’m all for that. The appetite is for him to stay, and we’ve got to find a happy medium.

“We really want to keep him, he really wants to stay and that’s a great starting point.”