England's Manu Tuilagi is being courted by Worcester and Wasps

Worcester and Wasps are reportedly ready to make Manu Tuilagi the highest paid Aviva Premiership star of all time by offering him more than £500,000 a year.

The England centre has been offered a new contract by Leicester, which the Tigers claim would make him one of the highest-paid players in the world.

But their ambitious domestic rivals have upped the stakes by offering Tuilagi a sum never matched in English rugby history, according to the Press Association.

Saracens and French giants Toulouse have previously been interested in signing Tuilagi.

Leicester have offered Tuilagi a new contract

The expansion of the Premiership salary cap by £1m allows top clubs to bolster their squads for next term.

The addition of a second marquee player - whose salary is exempt from the cap - also boosts the English clubs' spending power.

Tuilagi has not played in more than a year due to serious groin trouble, and was removed from England's World Cup plans after being convicted of assaulting police officers in May.