Henry Pollock insists he has not yet re-signed for Northampton Saints and is “open to every opportunity” including playing abroad and trying out other sports. The England back-row forward is still widely expected to agree a deal to remain at Franklin’s Gardens but, for now, is refusing to publicly confirm his intentions beyond the end of this season.

While the 21-year-old flanker, who toured with the British & Irish Lions last year, has been offered a significant pay rise in excess of £400,000 a year to stay with the English champions until 2029, his new promotor Eddie Hearn has been touting Pollock as “a seven-figure player” in terms of what he brings both on the field and commercially. Prem salary cap regulations, however, mean that few, if any, other English clubs are in a position to afford him at that level.

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Pollock has made clear he is prepared to be “selfish” when it comes to maximising his earning potential in company with Hearn’s Matchroom agency. “I’m very much working through different scenarios and avenues I can take,” he said. “I’m very open to new opportunities and exploring that. I’m so young so I think it’s only right I assess those options and find the best decision for myself.

“I’m not going to say no to any opportunity. I’m in contract until the end of the year for Northampton and then after that I guess we’ll see what happens. You almost have to be quite selfish and think what’s right for you. If that is staying here, that’s great. I’ll be here for however long. If it’s not, then I’ll be open to new opportunities.”

Well-placed sources at Northampton remain confident Pollock will opt to stay put but any future suitors will also be encouraged by the player’s clear desire to venture beyond the East Midlands at some point in his career. “I definitely want to go and live in different countries and explore new sports and new avenues. At the minute rugby is my main priority but you never know what’s happening around the corner.”

Saints’ director of rugby, Phil Dowson, who has seen several high-profile England players depart Northampton in recent years for more lucrative pastures, acknowledged a new deal for Pollock had not been fully nailed down but said an agreement was “getting closer” with the new season kicking off next week. “As you can imagine it’s complex,” said Dowson, whose side will commence the defence of their title against Newcastle on Friday 25 September.

“There’s a few moving parts that we need to put together. But I’m hopeful. As I’ve said before, he wants to stay and we want to keep him. Obviously there’s some negotiation between that but those two things are very positive.

“It would have been good to have it sorted three weeks ago but that’s the case across the board. There’s lots of guys out of contract ... the best way of getting paid is to play well so that’s what we expect the lads to do.”

Dowson also believes Pollock’s fast-growing public profile will not necessarily affect his personality or impact on his playing performances. “He has always been honest and energetic. Sometimes that gets misconstrued. I don’t think he’s arrogant, I think he’s bloody talented. If I was that talented I would be pretty confident, too.

“But no, I don’t think he’s changed. The boys still take the piss out of him. He goes on private jets to boxing matches and as long as that’s not impacting how he plays the game, which it hasn’t done yet, I have got no problem. I did ask him if we could borrow the private jet to get to Sri Lanka on tour, but he said he was using it!”