Gavin Henson could be set for a move to London, with Saracens assuming pole position in the race for his signature © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Gavin Henson | Derick Hougaard

Teams: Ospreys | Saracens | Wales

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has announced that he expects the proposed signing of former Wales star Gavin Henson to "be sorted in the next few days".

Henson is still under contract to the Ospreys and has not played a competitive game of rugby for 18 months after becoming disillusioned with the sport following a succession of injuries, as well as the constant scrutiny of his relationship with former girlfriend Charlotte Church, with whom he has two children.

However, the 28-year-old centre, who can also play at fly-half and fullback, is desperate to resurrect his career in London and trained with Saracens on Monday as he attempted to prove himself capable of competing at the top level. Certainly, he did enough to convince Venter that he would prove a valuable addition to his squad.

"Gav had a fantastic session with us and was well received by the squad," he is quoted as saying by The Guardian. "I would be happy to sign him. We wanted to meet him, show him our facilities and to see if this is a place where he wanted to play rugby again. I asked him why he wanted to join us and he said it was to rediscover his competitive side and prove himself again. That was the right answer for me."

Venter also revealed that he intends to utilise Henson as a fly-half, with first-choice No.10 Derick Hougaard having been ruled out of action for at six months with an Achilles tendon injury.

"We have said to Gav that he will not be coming here as our saviour, he will be coming to join our squad as one of two fly-halves," the South African said.

To make the deal happen, though, Sarries still need to reach an agreement with the Ospreys, where Henson is officially on unpaid leave, and establish exactly when he will be free to resume playing given that he is committed to appearing on Strictly Come Dancing until potentially December.

"There are still some other things that need to be tied down and it is by no means done and dusted," Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths told the Watford Observer on Monday. "There are still some issues to be resolved. Hopefully we can reach an agreement but we recognise he has an existing commitment to honour. He hasn't played rugby in more than a year but there is no doubt about his talent."