Sale Sharks in discussion with England fly-half George Ford

Sale Sharks have expressed interest in signing England and Leicester Tigers fly-half George Ford.

The AJ Bell Stadium based club is on the lookout for the new fly-half option after AJ MacGinty confirmed that he will be leaving the club at the end of the ongoing season.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson conveyed that the initial discussion with Ford "went well".

"I thought it went well," said Sanderson.

"I have no intention of counting chickens before they're hatched. I honestly couldn't tell you what will happen.

"We can only put our best case forward and let the chips fall where they may, but I think we're a club with aspirations, with investment and with good people involved. I think we're a strong runner.

"Fly-half is a crucial position where you need someone of international class if you're ever going to challenge - and George Ford is one.

"He's world class and he's probably playing the best rugby he's played for a while. So, that's where we're at and the rest is speculation."

The 28-year-old is currently on his second stint with Leicester Tigers and has amassed 1119 points for them across 113 matches and also had represented Bath between 2013 and 2017. Ford is also the leading points scorer in the ongoing season with 107 to his tally and was named Premiership Player of the Month for October.

Ford has also scored 308 points for England since his international rugby debut in 2014 and has featured in 77 Tests. He was also part of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup campaigns but was left out of the ongoing autumn internationals by England coach Eddie Jones.