Haskell has a year to run on his current contract with the Paris-based side © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Max Guazzini | James Haskell

Tournaments/Tours: French Top 14

Teams: England | France | Stade Français

England flanker James Haskell is set for showdown talks with his employers Stade Francais in a bid to draw a line under the club v country row that engulfed the player earlier this season.

The 25-year-old was the subject of a tug-of-war during this year's Six Nations when his Top 14 side demanded his return from the England camp for a crucial league clash with Toulouse only for England to refuse the request insisting that they had first call on the player. Stade Francais president Max Guazzini later complained to the International Rugby Board claiming the player was "a hostage" and that his club had contractual rights on the player.

A fully-fit Haskell was more recently omitted from Stade's crucial Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Toulouse amidst speculation that the back-row star was being punished for not putting his club before country the previous month. Haskell has been a near ever-present for Stade this season and in his absence the side crashed out of Europe's premier club competition.

"I was gutted to miss out on the quarter-final," Haskell said in an interview with frenchrugbyclub.com. "There are some issues that have to be sorted out with Stade and I have got a meeting coming up which will achieve that. There has been a bit of a misinterpretation and we need to resolve it because there is obviously an issue.

"I love the club and we have to make sure that we work it out. I have just turned 25 and my career is very important to me. I'm also very loyal to Stade Français. I love playing for them and I've done so 24 times this season, which is almost every game I could play apart from the ones I missed on international duty. I've given everything I can to the club this year, but international rugby is the most important thing. It's what I want to achieve and it's what I want to keep on achieving until I'm no longer required, my body can't cope, or someone better comes along."

Haskell also insisted that he had no regrets about leaving Premiership side Wasps in what was a high-profile switch last summer. "The opportunity to come and play for Stade and to get to play with the players that play for them has helped on every level. I've grown up as a person, which is what I wanted to achieve, and I think my rugby has certainly got better. I've also got back into the England squad, so from that point of view it's been very good.

"Clearly, the results at Stade Français haven't gone our way. We've had two changes of coach throughout the season and I've had an issue with Stade with my release for England. There's always the rough with the smooth, but actually in terms of the move I'm very, very pleased and I don't think it could have gone much better really.

He added, "Sometimes you think you've got it all figured, but each year your life goes by and you look back and realise, 'I had no idea.' But I feel I've matured a little bit and I've enjoyed the French lifestyle and the French people."