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The Ospreys today suffered a hammer-blow when talisman Kahn Fotuali’i announced he was joining Northampton Saints.

The Samoa scrum-half star, arguably one of the best players in this season’s Heineken Cup, has signed a big-money deal with the Aviva Premiership club.

His decision came just 11 days after he claimed he “definitely” wanted to stay with RaboDirect Pro12 champions Ospreys.

Fotuali’i, 31, in a couple of months time, had said: “We have got a great bunch of boys here and the future excites me a lot.

“There’s a future here we are building as Ospreys and that’s in the back of my mind. My focus is to help out on and off the field.”

Ospreys chief Andrew Hore admitted: “We are obviously disappointed to lose a player of Kahn's quality.

“We made what we consider a very competitive offer to the player to retain his services, but unfortunately, he has advised us that his future lies elsewhere.”

“Although this is disappointing news, the early decision from Kahn allows us to move forward positively as a business with an eye on next season and possible player recruitment.

“We will continue to look for under the radar signings who will offer value for money while contributing immensely to our environment, just as Kahn has.

“He has thrived in our environment, playing the best rugby of his career this season, which led to the intense interest in his services.”

Fotuali’i will join Northampton, who like the Ospreys bombed out of the Heineken Cup at the group stage, at the end of the campaign and will pick up a salary reputed to be about £250,000 a year.

He linked up with the Ospreys following last season’s World Cup and took time to settle, Rhys Webb rising to the challenge and seizing the No 9 spot from him after showing the form which was to result in a Wales call-up.

But Fotuali’i, who switched to the Liberty Stadium from New Zealand Super Rugby giants Crusaders, has been a galvanising force for the Ospreys this campaign.

Hore maintained: “Kahn was happy to stay here, but we were unable to match the salary available elsewhere.

“We totally understand that it is only a short career and he needs to put his and his family's future first.

“We are sure that Kahn will continue to serve us well between now and the end of the season as we look to retain our RaboDirect Pro12 title.”

Toulouse, Munster, Bath, Saracens, Montpellier and Racing Metro were also purportedly been interested in securing his services.