Fissler Confidential: England star opens talks as PREM club go to market

England international inside centre Max Ojomoh has opened talks with former Gallagher PREM champions Bath about extending his deal, which runs out at the end of the season.

Ojomoh, 26, scored a try in his only England appearance against Argentina last season and has an international record of two tries in two games. He entered the final year of his contract in July, but Bath have started talks early.

He has been a target for Leicester Tigers in the past but has always opted to stay at the Rec, and Bath are hoping to wrap up talks in the next few weeks once again.

Fijian Olympic gold medallist Iosefo Masi, who was in the final year of his contract with Top 14 outfit Lyon, has put pen to paper on a two-year extension and will stay at the Stade de Gerland until 2029.

Masi, 28, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and then silver in Paris four years later, joined Lyon from Fijian Drua at the start of last season, made 14 appearances, and scored four tries.

Lyon moved quickly to tie down the inside centre on a new long-term deal after he started this season with two tries in the opening three games.

Former Ireland and Lions flanker Stephen Ferris believes Ulster need to bring in two or three marquee signings to restore the province’s glory days.

He says that he wants a return to the days when Ulster attracted World Cup winners and iconic players such as Ruan Pienaar, Johann Muller, and John Afoa who were plying their trade in Belfast.

“I think Ulster need two or three marquee signings that are going to take the roof off, and that might not be at the end of this season, but moving forward, that’s clearly where they have got to get to,” the Premier Sports pundit told Fissler Confidential.

Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam admits it’s not easy to find replacements for his ever-growing list of long-term injuries, with clubs looking to keep hold of the players in their squads.

Bears owner Stephen Lansdown has tightened the purse strings this season, but Lam was able to bring in seven senior signings and has been hit by a string of long-term injury problems.

“At the moment, we’re okay, but we’ve got one eye on options and so forth. But with everyone starting their season, there’s probably less available than most people would think,” he said.

Alex Sanderson expects Sale Sharks to be much quieter in recruitment this season after a frantic summer saw them sign 12 senior players ahead of it.

Fissler Confidential understands that the two main areas they want to improve are inside centre and scrum-half, despite signing All Blacks XV ace Xavier Roe from the Chiefs.

“We are only specifically targeting one or two players to add to this group that should be together for the next two years at least. At this stage it’s about keeping the core group together and adding to the gene pool,” he said.

Newcastle Red Bulls are stepping up their search for another scrum-half with England international Raffi Quirke set to miss the opening three months of the new season.

RugbyPass broke the news on Monday that Quirke, who only moved to the North-East from Sale Sharks this summer, had picked up a knee injury and now isn’t expected back until the autumn.

The season is only just starting, but new Red Bulls boss Dan McFarland, fresh from helping Kobelco Steelers win the Japanese title, already has almost an entire starting XV on the treatment table.

Gloucester boss George Skivington has put a powerful back at the top of his shopping list for recruitment chief Rob Burgess to chase ahead of the 2027/28 season.

Skivington brought in the likes of Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and Jean Kleyn this summer and has told this column that he expects to do similar business next summer as well.

“I think we’ve shown our intent in the recruitment with what we have done this season. It’s the way we want to go, and we intend to recruit similarly this season going into next season,” he said.

Saracens boss Brendan Venter is known for not being a fan of media duties, and the club was fined £5,000 after he was the only Director of Rugby not to show up for the season launch at Twickenham recently.

And he was once again absent from the midweek calls ahead of their Gallagher PREM opener against Leicester Tigers , leaving head coach Joe Shaw to front up.

Meanwhile, the club have advertised for a third media guru in a matter of weeks after the well-thought-of Oli Shapley and Will Roberts left.