The top five signings ahead of the new Gallagher PREM season

Now that the British & Irish Lions series is over, fans in England can start turning their attention to the new season of domestic action, with the Gallagher PREM season getting underway on Thursday, September 25.

With six different winners over the past six seasons, the PREM is probably the most competitive top-tier league in rugby, so a couple of signings could make the difference between being champions and finishing halfway down the ladder.

Teams seem very much aware of that, with plenty of business over the summer.

Here are five of the biggest signings:

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Sale

27 - 10

Full-time

Gloucester

All Stats and Data

5. Henry Arundell to Bath

In many ways the forgotten rising star of English rugby, the 22-year-old Henry Arundell will be back in Old Blighty this coming season after a year-and-a-half in Paris with Racing 92, ending his deal a year early to join the reigning champions.

Bath have also recruited Santi Carreras from Gloucester, which may actually be the better signing based on form, but it’s the hype and potential that Arundell brings that is so exciting about this signing.

The back-three star already has 10 England caps to his name, having made his debut as a teenager under Eddie Jones, with an impressive seven tries. His time in France wasn’t a disaster, but he maybe didn’t light up the Top 14 as much as he would have hoped.

He will now be looking to revive his England career, but since his departure to France, Tommy Freeman has cemented his place on one wing for England, while Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Roebuck have made their debuts and are now regulars under Steve Borthwick. Ollie Sleightholme, Cadan Murley and Will Muir have also emerged on the scene, and the likes of Ollie Hassell-Collins, Adam Radwan and Gabriel Ibitoye continue to tear up the Premiership, so Arundell will need to be at his best to move ahead of the competition.

4. JJ van der Mescht to Northampton Saints

What’s not to love about a 145kg lock described as a “fly-half trapped in a second-row’s body”?

Former South Africa U20 international JJ van der Mescht will make the move to Northampton after four years with Stade Francais, and will add plenty of weight to a Saints pack that have lost heavyweights Juarno Augustus and Temo Mayanavanua over the summer.

But it is the 26-year-old’s skill set on top of his physicality that is most promising, as his distributing game looks like it will fit in well with a Saints outfit whose first instinct is to attack.

3. Callum Chick to Northampton Saints 

After years of captaining and carrying the Newcastle Falcons week in, week out in admirable fashion, Callum Chick will be heading to a side that were one game away from being European champions last season.

Some players struggle when they are no longer the leading man in a side, but, conversely, it frees others up to take their game to another level with higher-quality players around them. That is what makes this move so fascinating.

Chick has two England caps to his name, both earned in 2021, and this move is surely the 28-year-old’s attempt to work his way into Borthwick’s plans. But the No.8 is trying to break into arguably the most competitive unit in world rugby, the England back-row.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Bath

40 - 14

Full-time

Munster

All Stats and Data

2. Len Ikitau to Exeter Chiefs

After a dismal 2024/25 campaign with just four wins in 18 games, Exeter have gone big this summer in their rebuild, bringing in a host of internationals.

The pick of the bunch could well be Australia centre Len Ikitau. A bona fide Test player fresh from three starts against the British & Irish Lions. The 26-year-old will bring his trademark ferocity in defence, suiting Exeter’s style, but there is so much more to his game.

The Wallaby may only be at Sandy Park for one year, but it should be one to remember.

1. Owen Farrell to Saracens

Who else? There’s not much to write about the former England captain that the rugby world doesn’t know already.

After a less-than-ideal season with Racing 92, the 33-year-old is back at the club where he made his name, looking to add to his six Premiership titles, and has enjoyed a series win with the Lions in between.

Does this move make Saracens genuine title contenders again? Absolutely. Will it help their European chances? Possibly. Will it change Borthwick’s England plans? Very likely.