Jonny May joins Leicester Tigers in player-plus-cash deal as Ed Slater heads to Gloucest

Leicester Tigers have announced the signing of England wing Jonny May from Gloucester despite the pace merchant having a year left on his contract at Kingsholm in what is a growing trend in rugby union of clubs buying out player contracts.

Gloucester have signed former Tigers second-row Ed Slater as part of the deal, but it is the player-plus-cash offer that Leicester made that is the latest in a growing line of transfers that could change the way that rugby union clubs operate in the off-season.

With £200m being spent on one player alone in football following Neymar’s world record transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, rugby is still very much in the early stages of a designated transfer window. At present, players can move clubs throughout the season, although it is highly unlikely to see any major business completed until the summer break when contracts expire.

That could all change in the near future though. Leicester offered a transfer fee plus long-serving forward Slater to sign 27-year-old May, who has 27 international caps to his name and has carved out a reputation for being one of the fastest finishers in the Premiership, even if Eddie Jones once analysed his play as “we just tell him to run, mate”.

It is hardly surprising that a club the size of Leicester’s were ready to spring a current England international out of his contract, but when so many sides now have the financial clout to back up their ambition, it’s something that is likely to happen more often in the next few years. Saracens, Bath and Wasps also have significant financial firepower to target almost any player in the world, certainly those in the northern hemisphere, while reigning Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs will no doubt feel the monetary gain that will come from their thrilling success in last season’s Premiership final to try and ensure their stay at the top is not a temporary one.

Leicester are perhaps the most interesting case study here though. The once all-conquering Premiership champions have suffered something of a fall from grace, and while they still maintained their place in last season’s Premiership play-offs, fourth is not where the board see the club.

That is why they have added to the signings of George Ford and his brother Joe, Sione Kalamafoni, Jonah Holmes, Nick Malouf, Gareth Owen and Dominic Ryan with the addition of May, while two more arrivals were announced on Monday in the shape of Tonga back-row Valentino Mapapalangi and United States prop Chris Baumann.

“We are absolutely delighted to add to the quality of our backs with the signing of Jonny May,” Leicester head coach Matt O’Connor said on Monday, with the former Gloucester wing currently in camp with the England squad that ended abruptly in the morning for another Leicester player in Manu Tuilagi following his alcohol-fuelled Sunday with Sale’s Denny Solomona.

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“Jonny is a proven international and has played a lot of rugby at Premiership and Test level and will add a lot of experience to the squad. He is an out-and-out finisher with an outstanding try-scoring record and I think he is a fantastic addition to the group.”

Transfer fees are allowed in rugby, even if they’re not all that common. Jonny Wilkinson was sprung from his Newcastle contract by Toulon back in 2009, while more recently Sam Burgess saw his rugby union nightmare ended when the South Sydney Rabbitohs bought him back from Bath soon after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, ending a year-long stint in the 15-man game in a $1.5m deal. With clubs holding more money than ever before, it’s not inconceivable that a designated transfer window is introduced in order to try and control teams raiding each other mid-season.

Rugby has a long way to go before it catches up with the round-ball game, but the financial impact on both is being felt across the board and this deal is just the latest example of the changing landscape for the Premiership.