Wasps went into administration on Monday and all their players and coaches were made redundant
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Fly-half Charlie Atkinson could be set for a move to Leicester Tigers after reports of talks emerged regarding his move across the Midlands.
The 21-year-old was among the players and staff made redundant by Wasps on Monday as the business they operate under, Wasps Holdings Limited, went into administration.
The Telegraph has reported that the talks are centering around a move this season.
Since making his senior Wasps debut in August 2020, Atkinson has amassed 40 appearances and was ever-present this season, scoring two tries in four games.
Tigers are currently without Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard after he underwent surgery on his knee, leaving Freddie Burns as the main option with experienced former Wasps player Jimmy Gopperth also an option at Steve Borthwick's disposal. The same publication also suggested that Saracens could be a 'potential destination' for Atkinson.
Tighthead prop Biyi Alo has been photographed participating in a training session with Racing 92.
The powerful forward made 46 appearances for Wasps after initially joining temporarily from Coventry Rugby in 2019, and has attracted the interest of England head coach Eddie Jones.
If the Top 14 side does offer the former Saracens and Worcester Warriors player a contract, he will increase the Wasps interest in them further after Christian Wade recently joined them and scored on his return to rugby after four years away from the sport.
One of Wasps' brightest young stars Alfie Barbeary could also be playing across the Channel by the end of the season as Bordeaux Begles emerged as a contender for his signature. The Telegraph has also reported that discussions have been held with three Premiership clubs.
A snagging point for Barbeary is his fitness, after undergoing hamstring surgery recently that will rule him out until 2023.
The signing of Saracens prop Vincent Koch was the bright light that shone through the gloom at Wasps during testing times – how bad can things be if they can attract the World Cup winning Springboks ace?
Sadly, Wasps fans never got to see him in action for the club. Koch was due to play against Northampton Saints but was withdrawn due to flu. Now he is also looking for a new employer after little over a week in the West Midlands.
Koch was likely to only briefly link up with Wasps before rejoining the Springboks ahead of their Autumn international series, and their head coach Jacques Nienaber gave this update on the 32-year-old: “He won’t have participated in (club) rugby but if my memory serves me correct because of the injuries that there were to the props at Saracens, Vincent last year he was coming in just under 2,000 minutes for the year.
“So in terms of his body, this little break that he has now – and it won’t be a break as he will be in consultation with the S&C and the performance staff, they will be on his case – from a performance contact point of a view, if you have just come out of a season playing 2,000 minutes as a tighthead prop, he was exposed to a lot of rugby."
For the full RugbyPass article click here.
Jack Willis was among the first players to be linked with a move away from Wasps, with Bristol Bears being reported as keen on bringing in the England international.
But CoventryLive understands this deal is proving difficult due to issues Bristol has with squeezing the 2019/20 Premiership player of the season inside their salary cap.
Rob Baxter, the Exeter Chiefs director of rugby, has backed the RFU and Premiership Rugby's treatment of Wasps and Worcester Warriors.
Both clubs have entered administration and have been suspended from the top flight and will have to restart in the Championship if fresh investment can be found.
Wasps had an interested party to buy the rugby club and the entire business operation, including the stadium, but due to issues over retaining the P share – which were awarded to the 13 established top-flight clubs in 2005, and entitle shareholders to a percentage of the central income of the league as well as voting rights on issues key to the league – pulled out of the deal.
Baxter said: "People have got to remember when you say is it right the stance the RFU are taking or PRL (Premiership Rugby Limited), I think the one bit that surprises me that hasn’t been reported is what is the alternative?
“Because what is the alternative? The alternative is that a business, a rugby club in the Premiership, can go into administration, can organise a pre-pack with somebody so they don’t lose their position in the Premiership, they don’t lose their P shares and they wipe their debts.
“Are we saying that is what we should have done because that seems to be suggested because if that is the truth, then why doesn’t every club in the Premiership that has got debts organise a pre-pack with an administrator, go into administration, keep their P shares, keep everything that is going to be of value, and wipe the debts of everyone they owe money to?
“Because if you do it for one club, you are saying that is the right thing to do. That is what surprises me about this argument around the P-share allocation.”
“I feel very much for all the people involved at Wasps and Worcester but that is a totally different argument,” Baxter insisted.
“How can Premiership Rugby run a business that says it is okay to run into multiple administrations every time you run into debt?
"We would have no confidence in the business, no confidence in the TV deal and why would a sponsor ever come in to run a rugby club where in theory once you feel like it you can go into administration and wipe your debt.
“There has to be some repercussions and that is why those rules were put in place. Those rules were put in place at the start so we couldn’t as businesses do exactly that – we couldn’t just wipe our debts and start again with no repercussions.
“That is why I am really surprised there seems to be such a big argument about it. For me it seems the most common sense thing that it has to be a fundamental rule. I can’t get my head about the argument with the P shares.”
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