MUNSTER stand-off Ben Healy has been linked with a move to Glasgow Warriors next season.
The 21-year-old playmaker has had a breakthrough season success for his home province during the last two months but is still on an academy contract which runs out next summer, and the IRFU has not yet started negotiations with players for the 2021-22 season and beyond due to the financial uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Healy, who was a member of Ireland’s Under-20s Six Nations Grand Slam squad in 2019, apparently qualifies to play for Scotland through a family connection – meaning he might view a move to Glasgow as not just an opportunity to secure his medium-term employment status but also open up a less crowded route into the international game.
“Healy is Scottish-qualified through his family and is therefore of serious interest to PRO14 side Glasgow, who have offered him a senior deal that would naturally involve a big financial leap from his current academy contract,” reported Irish sport website The42. “It’s also understood that Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend views Healy as a player of real potential.”
A Glasgow Warriors spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on speculation.”
Glasgow Warriors currently have three established stand-offs in Adam Hastings, Pete Horne and Brandon Thomson on the books, plus academy prospect Ross Thompson. However, Hastings and Thomson are believed to be out of contract at the end of the current season, with Chief Executive Mark Dodson admitting last week that Scottish Rugby is in a similar situation to the IRFU when it comes to offering new deals to current players.
“Most of the players are enthusiastic about staying, but we haven’t had any real deep, meaningful conversations yet,” he said. “We have to wait and get this year out of the way.”
But Dodson has also stated that he doesn’t want the current financial squeeze to jeopardise the competitiveness of Scotland’s pro teams longer term and has been bullish about the prospect of a return to some sort of normality soon. At last Thursday’s AGM [part 2.1] he stated that he anticipates the long-awaited investment in the Six Nations from private equity firm CVC Partners to materialise before Christmas – which could free up some significant cash.
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