Wednesday 18 May 2016 00:14, UK
Wasps coach Dai Young would love to bring Willie Le Roux and Steffon Armitage to the club but says he is yet to speak to either player.
The Aviva Premiership club have been linked with a move for utility back Le Roux but Young says a deal is not close and that he has not even approached him, or Toulon about flanker Armitage.
Armitage has plied his trade in France since 2011, a move that cost him the chance to add to the five caps he won for England because of strict rules over selecting players who move overseas.
Young is happy to say Wasps want to bring more big names to the club - they have already signed Australia centre Kurtley Beale - but says any further moves are only at the 'interest' stage.
"Everyone realises what players are leaving here, so any players in those positions we're always going to be linked with them," said Young.
"The reality is at this moment in time it's pure speculation. Have we spoken to Toulon? No we haven't. I haven't spoken to him [Le Roux] either, and I do pretty much all the signings.
"We know that, like a lot of players, he's out there, as in coming out of contract, weighing up his options. We've put a marker there as in we haven't put in any offers but we would be interested, but a lot of these players pretty much want to see how the die is cast on the international scene before they even think about looking elsewhere.
"There's lot of new international coaches and new environments, so a lot of these players will want to see where they fit in certainly over the June internationals and probably then decide whether to stay where they are or look elsewhere.
"But the problem is, it's a difficult market, because agents have a job to do."
Wasps finished third in the Aviva Premiership regular season table, and take on Exeter in the play-offs on Saturday, but Young has his sights set higher for next season.
And he feels a mark of the club's ambition is being linked with players of the quality of Armitage, who was European Player of the Year in 2014.
"It's flattering that we are linked with these types of players," said Young. "Nobody's going to turn their back on world class players, but we've got a decent squad, and the important thing for me is not only recruitment but also retention.
"There's no point bringing one or two players in and losing five or six. We've got to have continuity within our squad. Our marquee players have got to be people to add that little bit of stardust.
"But you look at Kurtley Beale, he can play 12, 15, 10, wing, so I'm comfortable really that I could keep everyone happy with a rotation policy and still use his ability as well.
"We have certainly got world-class players in Charles Piutau and George Smith, so replacing them is difficult. If we could replace them with like for like we would but we're not just looking to bring in numbers, because I'm confident with the squad we've got.
"So if that means not getting somebody this year and someone comes up next year, so be it. If someone's available, we'll look at it."
