Saracens hold talks to extend Maro Itoje amid Top 14 interest
Saracens are in negotiations to extend Maro Itoje’s contract after reports of interest from Top 14 clubs, the BBC reported on 21 October 2026. The discussions come amid suggestions that a move to France could put the England captain’s Test career on hold.
Discussions are under way to keep Itoje at Saracens beyond the expiry of his current deal, which runs until after next year’s Rugby World Cup. Itoje will be 33 by the end of that tournament and has won 102 England caps since making his debut in the 2016 Six Nations. Any transfer to a French club would trigger the Rugby Football Union’s policy of not selecting overseas-based players.
French newspaper Midi-Olympique has named European champions Bordeaux-Begles and Perpignan among clubs alerted to Itoje’s potential availability. Saracens say they remain optimistic about reaching a new agreement but acknowledge they are competing with Top 14 clubs that have greater spending power. The Top 14’s headline salary cap stands at 11m euros (£9.2m), compared with the Premiership’s £6.4m.
The Top 14 will also benefit from a new five-year broadcast agreement with Canal Plus coming into effect next season, a factor cited in reporting on the competition for high-profile players. The English Premiership permits one marquee player at each club to sit outside the salary cap, a provision that could give Saracens additional flexibility in contract talks over Itoje. Remaining in England would also leave Itoje eligible for a central England contract worth about £150,000 a year.
As part of an agreement between clubs and country, Itoje was rested for England’s summer fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina after several seasons of heavy workload. A move to the Top 14 would remove international fixtures from his schedule, while the French top flight schedules 26 regular-season fixtures, with the top six qualifying for post-season play-offs and European fixtures added on top.
Itoje has been at Saracens since his teenage years and remained with the club during their single season in the Championship following their punishment for repeated breaches of the salary cap. Paris-based Racing 92 have previously been credited with interest in Itoje, although no transfer resulted from that reported approach.
England’s policy of selecting only domestic-based players has faced pressure amid recent moves to France. Jack Willis, who played for England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, has been named Top 14 player of the season in each of the past two campaigns while at Toulouse. Courtney Lawes, who returned to the Premiership and Sale after two seasons with Brive, has said he believes the bar should be scrapped, and Ellis Genge has also advocated change. Several England internationals moved to the Top 14 around the 2023 World Cup cycle: Willis joined Toulouse and Joe Marchant and David Ribbans moved immediately after the tournament, while Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Kyle Sinckler, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May and Billy Vunipola made moves to France in the following summer.
Discussions to extend Itoje’s Saracens stay continue, with the club hopeful of a new agreement but conscious of competing offers from France; the outcome will determine whether he remains eligible for England selection under current RFU rules and whether he departs after the next Rugby World Cup.
