Jonny May close to an exit at Leicester Tigers

England star Jonny May is on the verge of leaving Leicester Tigers at the end of the season RugbyPass understands.

May’s future at the club has been the subject of speculation for pretty much the entirety of the season, but it appears now that the die is all but cast, with the winger likely to decide he’s best served away from Welford Road.

The 30-year-old winger has spent the last three seasons at the club, having signed from Gloucester in 2017.

The Rugby Pod – Season 4 – Episode 33

The Rugby Pod – Season 4 – Episode 33

Reports last month suggested that financially strained Leicester Tigers wanted May to take a £100,000 pay cut next season – 40 per cent of his reported £250,000 salary.

The England winger has been heavily linked to Sale Sharks, who have lost the services of Chris Ashton after he fell out with Director of Rugby Steve Diamond and headed to Harlequins.

Some reports last month even suggested that Sale Shark could enter a swap deal, with May going north while former England winger Marland Yarde travels south in exchange. Leicester Tigers will also have the services of Nemani Nadolo next season, who signs from Montpellier.

It wouldn’t be May’s first swap deal. May transferred to Leicester Tigers on such a deal, with Gloucester signing lock Ed Slater in exchange. Slater was apparently not completely enamored with the deal at the time, but has since gone on to make a success of his time at Kingsholm.

That move came after May approached Gloucester management saying that ‘he wanted to leave’, having been unhappy at the club that he had been at for the vast majority of his career.

Leicester are thought to be feeling the pinch more than most. Last month they revealed that they are no longer up for sale after the club pulled the plug on the process due to a lack of offers.

It was June last year, on the back of the dividend received by CVC Capital Partners buy into the Gallagher Premiership, that the club was put on the market in the hope that a potential £60million sale could help the Tigers return to the top of English rugby again.

At the time, the CVC pay-out had left Tigers debt-free and club officials believed their set-up was now an attractive opportunity for an investor to grow commercial revenues and accelerate development plans.