Liam Williams will leave Saracens for a return to Wales next season - reports

Local media in Wales are claiming that Scarlets have won the race to sign Saracens’ Liam Williams while Ospreys are said to be in pole position to nab Dragons’ Ross Moriarty. 

A move for Wales international Williams had long been speculated on, particularly in the wake of Saracens signing England back three player Elliot Daly.

The London club have had salary cap issues, being fined £5.4million and getting deducted 35 Premiership points for breaches the last three seasons. They are now also being closely monitored to ensure they meet the criteria for this season.  

That pressure has seemingly created the situation that walesonline.co.uk claim Scarlets will now profit from as they are said to have secured Williams’ signature for next term on a deal worth £400,000 a year.

Williams, who left Scarlets after their 2017 PRO12 title win, had also been linked with Ospreys and Toulon. He will now become fully available again for all Wales duty when he arrives at Scarlets, unlike the current situation where his employment by an English club can restrict his availability in training weeks. 

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Moriarty, meanwhile, is said to likely be heading to Swansea rather than take up alleged offers in England and France. 

Dragons are suffering from an embarrassment of riches in their back row with the emergence of talent such as Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths and Taine Basham, and Moriarty has yet to play for them this season.  

Rather than keep a costly Test player on their books – Welsh media put his salary at £450,000 a year in an independently financed deal – it’s said Dragons would be inclined not to keep him and instead allow their Welsh rivals tempt him west.   

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