Sale centre Luke McAlister has become the subject of speculation from European clubs © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Luke McAlister

Teams: England

Sale's All Black centre Luke McAlister could soon be the subject of serious interest from French Top 14 clubs after his new contract with the Sharks remained un-signed at the turn of the New Year.

After January 1 clubs are able to enter into talks with players coming out-of-contract in that calendar year, meaning that McAlister is now fair game to those expressing an interest.

French big-spenders Toulon wetre rumoured to be interested in securing the services of McAlister, who amassed 22 caps for New Zealand before heading to the Premiership, while Biarritz and Clermont Auvergne have also been mentioned in connection with his signature.

Sale had hoped that McAlister would have re-signed before the window opened on January 1, but Head Coach Kingsley Jones remains confident that he will be staying at Edgeley Park.

"I believe Luke really wants to stay here with Sale Sharks," he told the Stockport Express. "He is very happy at the moment, it's just whether we can compete with French clubs. At the moment we've got to operate at 4m pounds ($10m) [salary cap], while one French club is rumoured to have a player budget of 20 million euros, that is nearly 20m pounds ($50m) nowadays.

"Luke wants to be here for the right reasons, rugby and everything else, but he has to look after his future. If the figures being bandied round are true then it's going to be very difficult to compete with that and have a squad of 30 players."

Meanwhile, Wasps continue to be the subject of further speculation as stars such as James Haskell and England fly-half Danny Cipriani are yet to re-sign with the club. Haskell has been linked in the media with a potential move to Bath or Stade Francais, while according to reports in newspaper The Sun, Cipriani his considering a move to France.

"Danny wants to stay but Wasps aren't offering the money he wants," a friend of Cipriani is reported to have told The Sun. "The club can't afford the wages some other clubs are paying but all he wants is to be the same as other England players. He came through the ranks with James Haskell and Dom Waldouck and is one of the lower earners. But that doesn't reflect his status in England as one of the most promising players in the world.

"He doesn't want to play outside of London in the Premiership but the idea of going to France for a short spell has been mentioned. As long as Martin Johnson doesn't mind from an England point of view, it is something he would explore."

English club's may have another worry ahead of next season as rumours circulate that Premier Rugby, the organisation responsible for governing the Premiership's clubs, are considering limiting the size of playing squad to between 35 and 40 players. With the current European Cup squad size locked at 38, Premiership clubs could soon find that limitation becoming their everyday norm.

Taking current squad sizes into account, this means that players may be losing their jobs come the start of next season as clubs struggle to cope with a salary-cap cut as well as reduced squad sizes.

"Most clubs have done their recruitment for next season which makes me slightly concerned that we are talking about having to reduce the wage bill by £500,000 per club," Professional Rugby Players Association chief Damian Hopley told The Daily Telegraph. "A lot of contracts are already locked in, and it is very hard for players, with families to feed and mortgages to support, to be told that they might have to re-negotiate.

"Some clubs aren't happy with the proposals either. They say they have made agreements with their players in good faith and want to honour them."