Colin Slade shows some pace and strength on the ball for the Crusaders against the Highlanders.

Colin Slade is refusing to comment on reports a French club has dangled $720,000 a year under his nose to join the All Blacks' post-World Cup exodus.

Ambitious second division club Pau wants Crusaders star Slade to be their playmaker and join fellow All Black Conrad Smith when the team turns out in the French Top 14 next season.

Slade is off contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union this year and his future beyond the World Cup remains uncertain.

Photosport Colin Slade shows courage with a diving tackle of Cheetahs outside back Clayton Blommetjies.

He had been linked to a shift to high profile French club Toulon, but French newspaper Midi Olympique reports that the Pau offer is superior, coming at a reported €$f500,000 per season with two or three-year options.

Slade, who starred in the Crusaders' 52-10 win over the Sharks in Durban last Sunday, was training with the Crusaders in Christchurch on Wednesday but declined a request for comment. But he is sure to come under further scrutiny when the Crusaders hold a media session on Thursday after naming their team to play the Highlanders in Christchurch on Saturday night.

Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach was also staying mum on Wednesday, saying only that he did not comment on speculation.

Getty Images Colin Slade kicks for goal for the Crusaders against the Highlanders in Dunedin.

But it is clearly a critical time for the Crusaders whose vaunted inside back division depth would be severely depleted if Slade signs for Pau. He would become the third Crusaders' All Blacks pivot to join the French revolution in the same season.

Dan Carter has inked a gold-plated deal with Paris club Racing Metro, estimated to be worth more than $2 million a year. Utility Tom Taylor is also off to Bayonne.

With Carter exiting, Slade would have been expected to lead the Crusaders' backline in the post-World Cup transition period.

Getty Images Colin Slade tackles Chiefs midfielder Charlie Ngatai.

At 27, he is still very much in his prime, like two other off-shore bound All Blacks Charles Piutau, 23, and Francis Saili, 24, who will join Irish clubs Ulster and Munster, respectively, next year.

The All Blacks were always going to face a rash of retirements or departures after the World Cup. Smith, Ma'a Nonu (Toulon), Ben Franks (London Irish), Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester) and Frank Halai (Wasps) already confirming overseas deals. Doubts also surround the playing futures of veteran forwards Richie McCaw, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu.

The New Zealand Rugby Union - who have re-signed Auckland forwards Jerome Kaino and Steven Luatua - would have banked on retaining players such as Slade, Piutau and Saili.

Slade, however, has been keeping his cards close to his chest this season.

He was asked by The Press about his future plans before he left for the Crusaders' recent two-game trek to South Africa.

"It is pretty early days. I have just been wanting to get a few games under my belt and look at those decisions later," Slade said then.

"I suppose the way things are going it is pretty positive, but who knows?"

When asked how "pretty positive" should be interpreted, he stated: "I don't want to make any promises but I am obviously enjoying my time here at the moment, so we will see in due course."

Slade's stocks rose in the injury absence of Dan Carter last year and he is making big claims for All Blacks retention despite the presence of rivals Carter, Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden.

Able to play at 10, 12, wing and fullback, and with a solid goalkicking boot, Slade is a genuine threat to specialist Cruden in a squad environment.

Pau have a strong Kiwi connection with former All Blacks first-five Simon Mannix in charge.

They also have massive revenue. Reports suggest Pau's main sponsor, French multinational oil and gas company Total, will up their funding from $3.6m to $6.5m to make them competitive in the rich top division that is now attracting the biggest names in the game.

Pau have totally dominated the French second division this season, winning 20 of their 26 games, scoring the most points and conceding the least.

Slade made his All Blacks debut in 2010 and has 17 caps, including five from the last World Cup in New Zealand, where he was part of an injury crisis at No 10 on the way to the title.