James Hook has signed for Perpignan © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

News: Thomas shuns big money move to Perpignan

News: Williams' Ospreys contract talks on hold

News: Gibbs: Ospreys' handling of Hook 'a disgrace'

News: Byrne seals Clermont switch

Players/Officials: James Hook

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: Ospreys | Perpignan | Wales

Wales playmaker James Hook has confirmed that he will join Top 14 heavyweights Perpignan next season on a three-year deal.

The 25-year-old announced in December that he would be leaving the Ospreys and he will now make the switch to France in the summer. He follows in the footsteps of international team-mate Stephen Jones, who spent time across the channel with Clermont Auvergne.

It is understood that Hook's Perpignan contract guarantees he will be released for all pre-Rugby World Cup training camps with Wales and their warm-up games later this year.

Perpignan, Heineken Cup quarter-finalists this term, are set to make Hook possibly the highest-paid player in Welsh rugby history, with his deal expected to exceed £1 million over three years.

"I have played there with the Ospreys, and it is a great place to play," he said. "It is a huge decision, it is not just me involved, it is my fiancée Kim and my little boy Harrison as well. Obviously, it is a rugby decision as well, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

"I spoke to Stephen Jones and also [Scotland international] Nathan Hines, who played for Perpignan. They could not speak highly enough about playing out there, and I took all that on board."

Hook's agent, former Wales lock Derwyn Jones, said Hook had been considering his playing options for the last 12 months.

"James is young, he has a young family and if there is a time to do it, it is probably now," he said. "From an agent's perspective, there is nothing the Ospreys or any other club in the United Kingdom could have done to keep him. It is not a negative on their part. I would like to thank the Ospreys, because they were thoroughly professional in how they dealt with this."