Premiership free-for-all to sign Louis Rees-Zammit

Premiership clubs are starting to queue up to speak to former Wales winger and Lions tourist Louis Rees-Zammit after his shock announcement that he was returning to rugby after ending his foolhardy bid to crack American Football.

Rees-Zammit, 24, sensationally announced 18 months ago that he was quitting Gloucester to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) and has had spells with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.

But despite the blaze of publicity, he was never anywhere near realistically playing a regular-season game, and in the early hours of this morning released a statement on Instagram saying he was leaving the NFL to return to rugby.

It is a scene that is all too familiar after former England winger Christian Wade, who quit Wasps in October 2018 only to return to playing rugby with Top 14 giants Racing 92 after being released by the Buffalo Bills in April 2022.

And even though the gamble to crack the NFL has ended in failure, Rees-Zammit always had a return to the sport that made him famous in his back pocket, and now clubs are beating a path to his door for talks.

Despite the season starting in a month, clubs have been looking down the back of their sofas to find some money, with Bristol Bears, according to reports, keen to explore the possibility of him signing for them.

While the Cherry and Whites, the club where he scored 42 tries in 77 appearances before leaving for the NFL, are understood to be another team interested in having talks about a possible move.

Others could also enter the race, especially if they can backload a deal which would see the speedster accept a lower salary for this season, but the difference would then be made up over subsequent years.

The one club that could easily afford to match his wage demands at this stage of the summer are the Newcastle Falcons, who are flush with cash after their takeover by energy drinks giants Red Bull.

They could also make him a marquee player, and there is also a possibility of Red Bull becoming a franchise holder in the Rebel League R360, who are bound to be interested in speaking to him about joining them.