• England centre changes plan after Mike Ford’s sacking • Bath still looking to complete backroom staff for next season

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Kyle Eastmond has left Bath and is expected to complete a move to Sale Sharks.

The England back is understood to have moved on after the club opted not to trigger a two-year contract extension that was agreed in January.

End of the road for Mike Ford at Bath after disappointing season Read more

Eastmond signed a heads of agreement with Bath over a lucrative new deal driven by the former head coach Mike Ford.

But once the former England defence coach was sacked in May, the club’s hierarchy chose not to complete his new contract.

The rugby league convert, 26, broke into England’s Test ranks under the former head coach Stuart Lancaster but has been unable to court the attention of Lancaster’s successor Eddie Jones.

Eastmond struggled along with Bath as the 2015 Premiership finalists slumped to a ninth-place finish in the 2016 campaign. Eastmond’s departure leaves Bath light in their inside-back division.

The Springboks assistant coach Johann van Graan has been linked with Bath, and there have been hints at the former South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer moving to the West Country.

Bath’s owner Bruce Craig is yet to finalise the coaching set-up for the forthcoming season, though the first-team coach Toby Booth remains in post.

Neal Hatley joined Jones’s England set-up as scrum coach at the end of April, so they may yet make two additions to their backroom staff.