George Ford has thrown his future with Bath into serious jeopardy after activating a release clause that will see him become a free agent at the end of the 2016/17 season, although it is not clear if he will seek a move elsewhere or decide to stay with the Aviva Premiership side.

The Times revealed on Wednesday that England fly-half Ford had activated a clause in his contract that will end his deal a year earlier than planned, although there is still some confusion over his ability to then discuss a move to another club despite becoming a free agent.

Bath owner Bruce Craig confirmed to The Times that the 23-year-old will still need permission from the West Country club to leave, despite choosing to go ahead with the release clause that had to be activated by Tuesday 15 November.

“There are lots of different pieces to this. There are other things that need to be applied. It is in our hands whether we let him go or not,” Craig said.

“There is a contract in place until the end of next season. He can’t leave at the end of this season unless the club says he can. It is in our remit whether we let him go or not.”

Ford grew unhappy at Bath when his father, Mike Ford, was sacked as head coach earlier this season. The former England defence coach has since taken up a role with Toulon, but despite being linked with a move to France, Ford Jr is unlikely to head to the Cote d’Azur as it will bring a halt to his international career.

Ford’s options in England are also somewhat limited, which suggests that he could choose to renegotiate his contract with Bath to seek better terms after developing into Eddie Jones’s first-choice fly-half. With Bath sitting in third in the Premiership table, the two sides above them in Saracens and Wasps are unlikely to go after Ford given they already have strong options at fly-half.

Reigning champions Saracens are able to call on Ford’s England midfield partner Owen Farrell and the emerging Alex Lozowski, while Wasps brought Danny Cipriani back in during the summer from Sale Sharks to compete with established outside half Jimmy Gopperth.

England vs South Africa player ratings Show all 30 1 /30 England vs South Africa player ratings England vs South Africa player ratings <b>England:</b> 15. Mike Brown - 7 out of 10 Unlucky not to have bagged a try before Lawes touched down. Reliable with the boot but made one bad decision to run with the ball when sending it back to the Springboks 22 would have been more advised. Fed May for the opening try. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 14. Marland Yarde - 6 out of 10 Kept quiet and was somewhat starved of ball. Ford looked to bring him into the game by chipping ahead when he had space ahead of him. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 13. Elliot Daly - 8 out of 10 England looked to utilise his talents with the ball in hand, but he was also on the end of a few hefty hits early on. Coped well though, and punished the Boks with a 50m-plus penalty kick on the stroke of half-time. Combined a nice blend of creative passing and decisive running lines. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 12. Owen Farrell - 8 out of 10 Missed one penalty effort that, given his form with the boot, you’d expect him to land. Supported Youngs smartly to bag his try, and showed a toughness in running the ball that surprised the Boks’ backs. Assertive as ever in defence. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 11. Jonny May - 7 out of 10 There’s something about Jonny May and what is quickly becoming May’s corner at Twickenham. Displayed his speed to hold off Paige to score the opening try on his return to the international fold. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 10. George Ford - 7 out of 10 Two poor kicks early on were quickly forgotten when his beautifully delayed pass released Yarde and set-up the first try for May. Grew into the game and found his kicking boots, though used those outside him when the opportunity arose as the Boks’ defence fell apart. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 9. Ben Youngs - 9 out of 10 Unlocked the South African defence twice with two dummies that will feature in Pieter-Steph du Toit’s nightmares for some time. Both came from the base of the ruck, demonstrating his awareness to make the most of the limited space afforded to him. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 1. Mako Vunipola - 8 out of 10 Did the bulk of the carrying along with his brother the great effect and rarely went backwards. His scrummaging has come on over the last year, but while he held his own in the front-row it’s still an area of slight weakness for the Saracen. That said, there wasn’t much else to fault him on. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 2. Dylan Hartley - 7 out of 10 Reliable as ever at the lineout, though the return of Wood gave him plenty of options in the air. Not as prominent in the loose, and didn’t have too much to do defensively as South Africa lacked ideas beyond one-out rugby. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 3. Dan Cole - 7 out of 10 Penalised early on for coming in at the side, but made up for it with a turnover penalty of his own. A force in defence, and coped well with the Beast in the scrum. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 4. Joe Launchbury - 8 out of 10 Stepped into the shoes of the absent Maro Itoje, and flourished on his return to the fold. While Itoje does the prominent work, Launchbury did a lot of the hidden stuff that gave England the platform to attack. Strong work in the air at the lineout. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 5. Courtney Lawes - 7 out of 10 Led the side out on his 50th cap and was celebrating 36 minutes later. Alert enough to dive on the ball after Brown’s apparent knock-on that proved otherwise after a TMO review. Looked to take on a much smarter role than his usual ‘enforcer’ self. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 6. Chris Robshaw - 8 out of 10 Thudding hit on Paige won possession for his side in the first-half and set the tone for his own performance. Worked hard to rush out from the first marker role and cut-off any inside balls. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 7. Tom Wood - 7 out of 10 Will have gained the fury of Jones with two quick penalties in the opening six minutes, but settled down and proved a force in the lineout and in the loose as he worked well with Yarde on the right. Led the defence, as he once used to. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 8. Billy Vunipola - 8 out of 10 Disappointed the crowd when he turned down an early chance to run at the Boks by calling mark, but soon announced his arrival with a barnstorming run through the middle. Another burst saw off Etzebeth as he left the field with a rattled head. Not his finest performance, but it was still one of the standout showings. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings <b>South Africa:</b> 15. Willie le Roux - 6 out of 10 Looked shaky in the first half as he kicked the ball straight into touch to put his side under pressure, and also saw very little of the ball on the front foot. Finished his late try well, but that was about it. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 14. Ruan Combrinck - 5 out of 10 One beautiful touchline conversion apart, this wasn’t a great showing from the wing. Ineffective with the ball, and managed to fire a penalty touch-finder dead to cost South Africa an attacking platform. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 13. Francois Venter - 6 out of 10 Lovely flick out the back of the hand set-up replacement Johan Goosen for the Springboks’ first try, via the hands of Whiteley, but was somewhat exposed in defence. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 12. Damian de Allende - 6 out of 10 Was still trying to create any sort of attack from South African ball right at the death, but found a white wall in front of him. Defensively suspect as Farrell and Daly enjoyed success opposite him, though he was softened up somewhat by Billy Vunipola. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 11. JP Pietersen - 5 out of 10 Knock-on from the high ball led to the second try for England and unfortunately goes down as his fault. Had a chance to impose on Yarde with the high ball but couldn’t capitalise. Largely anonymous otherwise. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 10. Patrick Lambie - 5 out of 10 Two early penalties were followed by a miss from distance, but while he didn’t put many feet wrong, he struggled to control his back line. Hauled off short of the hour mark after lacking creativity. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 9. Rudy Paige - 5 out of 10 Rattled by Robshaw and exposed by May, he didn’t enjoy a great first start at Twickenham. Didn’t marshal his forwards around the park that left South Africa on the back foot. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 1. Tendai Mtwarira - 6 out of 10 Great early run caught England out on the fringe and gained 30m for his side. Apart from that, he offered little, and Cole soon got the better of him in the front-row in a hard-fought battle. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 2. Adriaan Strauss - 6 out of 10 Doesn’t strike the opposition as a fearsome leader. Missed a chance to break when he attempted to fly-hack the ball on and missed. Replaced by Bongi Mbonambi with 10 minutes remaining. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 3. Vincent Koch - 5 out of 10 Guilty of dropping the ball at least twice and was exposed by Youngs as the scrum-half surged into the 22 in the first half. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 4. Eben Etzebeth - 5 out of 10 Had little time to impose himself on the game as he was bowled over by Billy Vunipola, suffering a head injury in the first half and leaving the field as a result. His departure sparked the rapid decline of the Springboks. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 5. Lood de Jager - 5 out of 10 Has trimmed himself down since his last tour on these shores at the World Cup, but for a man of his side he is not imposing on the opposition as he should be. Shirked the responsibility of carrying as others took on his work load. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 6. Willem Alberts - 7 out of 10 South Africa’s most impressive player as he did the hard yards and was also an unavoidable target in defence. A shame that those around him didn’t match his levels. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit - 4 out of 10 Exposed twice by Youngs that will have any rugby player embarrassed. Looked out of his depth at blindside, and should probably return to the second row for his next appearance. Getty England vs South Africa player ratings 8. Warren Whiteley - 6 out of 10 Sucked in Brown to release Goosen and set-up South Africa’s first try, but by then it was too late. Had front-foot ball at the scrum, although he could have done more with it. Getty

Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints are both possible destinations, although the former have Gareth Steenson and Henry Slade able to fill the 10 jersey while Saints are currently experiencing a slump in form that makes them a rather unattractive option. Sale have also been linked with a possible move for Ford, with his older brother Joe playing there for three years before moving to Yorkshire Carnegie this year.

Ford's contract with Bath will now end at the end of the season (Getty)

Ford scored a try in Saturday's 37-21 victory over South Africa (Getty)