Aviva Premiership
Northampton bid for North
ESPN Staff
March 19, 2013
Wales' George North is taken down by Scotland's Sean Lamont, Scotland v Wales, Six Nations, Murrayfield, Scotland, March 9, 2013
George North: Hot property © Getty Images
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Northampton have made a bid for Wales and Scarlets winger George North.

The 20-year-old winger, who has won 31 caps for his country and helped Wales to retain the Six Nations title with victory over England on Saturday, has one year left on his Scarlets contract.

North has been linked with a potential move to the French Top 14 over the past year but his agent Christian Abt has confirmed a bid by Saints.

"There has been an approach between the two clubs to discuss a possible transfer," Abt told the BBC. "I don't think it will drag on too long.

"I think these things need to happen quite quickly if it's going to happen so that each party knows where they stand. It's counter-productive to sort of drag on and for the player as well to know where he will be, so ideally I'm sure it will resolve itself in the next couple of weeks."

He added: "Unfortunately it's been well documented it's been difficult time for some of the Welsh regions financially. They are looking at ways to find to work within a business model which makes financial sense for themselves to go forward and be sustainable in this current market.

"George is under contract for another year at the Scarlets and as far as I'm aware there's ongoing discussions between [Scarlets] and possibly a few other parties... with regards to a possibility of George moving on from the summer.

"There has been interest from [other] Premiership outfits as well as French clubs expressing an interest in to when he might be out of contract.

"It's not something that we've really actively pursued, it's very much a case of understanding where he is in terms of the situation in Wales and trying to ensure that whatever happens in going forward is in his best interest in order to progress his career."

A host of Welsh stars, including Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins, James Hook, Lee Byrne and Luke Charteris, have already left Wales to play their rugby in France and Jamie Roberts and Dan Lydiate will cross the channel this summer.

The Welsh Rugby Union will be anxious to keep one of their biggest young stars in the country.

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