Cardiff and Wales wing Josh Adams will not be joining Top 14 high flyers Lyon, according to reports from France.
WalesOnline reported in January that the 27-year-old international had emerged as a key target for the south-east France club, suggesting Lyon were prepared to offer a transfer fee to secure Adams’ services well in advance of his Arms Park contract expiring in 2025.
Such a move may have interested Cardiff at a time when they are facing financial uncertainty and will be without their Wales players for a significant chunk of next season due to the World Cup.
But it now doesn’t seem likely to happen, with the website Rugbyrama reporting Lyon have put an end to contacts with the 49-cap player.
They say “the case was complex due to the Cardiff player's contractual situation and his international status”, adding: “The Lyon club has decided not to pursue the delicate negotiations with the winger and his representatives any further.”
Lyon have signed Semi Radradra from Bristol Bears for next season and the talented Thaakir Abrahams from the Sharks, and are looking to add another name to their backline roster.
Their move for Adams wasn’t just complicated by the player having two years left on his contract.
Cardiff coach David Young explained earlier this month that any agreement on a national squad member leaving Wales would need to involve a tripartite arrangement involving the player, his region and the WRU.
The union currently pay 80 percent of the wages of NS38 players (players of interest to the Wales senior squad) but the situation is set to change, eventually reaching the point where the professional sides themselves become responsible for the wages of those players without union involvement.
And as part of the new Welsh rugby agreement about to be signed, a region could lose funding if they allow a player who is in the "national interest 38" to move on without having made "reasonable endeavours" to retain his services.
Taking Adams off their wage bill could have aided Cardiff in a financial sense, albeit the west Walian has been in outstanding form at club level this term, scoring nine times from as many games.
Whatever, his mooted switch to Lyon appears off.
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