Ospreys head coach Mark Jones says things are “heading in the right direction” in the quest to keep Wales fly-half Dan Edwards.
Leicester have been linked with recruiting Edwards, who is out of contract with the Ospreys at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Wales captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan have announced they will leave Ospreys at the end of the season to join Gloucester.
When asked whether Edwards had agreed a new contract to stay at Ospreys, Jones replied: “There’s a few things bubbling in the background where we are happy they are heading in the right direction.
“Hopefully there will be a time where we can share some good news with our fans, but nothing I can report at this moment.
“There’s lots of players we are chatting to, that we want to keep in the Ospreys shirt.
“Hopefully we will have some exciting news about quite a few players moving forward with a bit of luck. We’ll save all of the good news for the new year.”
Edwards, 22, would be ineligible for Wales selection if he went to play club rugby in England because he has only played seven internationals.
Welsh rugby’s 25-cap rule says anybody below this tally cannot play international rugby if they sign for a club outside of Wales.
Jones has highlighted the qualities that Edwards has shown to attract international honours.
“I love working with Dan,” said Jones.
“I got first exposure to him with the [Wales] Under-20s a couple of years ago and we’ve got a similar view on how the game should be played.
“He has got a great mix and as a young player, he’s very mature.
“He’s a real running threat, but what people underestimate is the quality and length of his kicking game.”
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) says it will honour existing contracts and also guarantee new contracts signed by players of national interest such as Edwards.
Jones is hoping Ospreys will not lose more players after Lake and Morgan’s departures.
“I’m pretty confident we will retain the players we want to, but ultimately I can’t think for a player,” said Jones.
“I can just look at it through my lens at how we are communicating to the players, the type of environment we want to set here and then the types of packages we are trying to put forward to the players.
“I’m confident we’ll make it difficult for players to move on with those things on the table.
“I am pretty confident there’ll be a very strong Ospreys squad here moving forward in the years to come.”
Jones’ comments about the Ospreys’ long-term future were made as he prepares his side to face Cardiff on New Year’s Day.
These derby fixtures come at a time when the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) plans to cut a men’s professional side.
There are rumours that the Ospreys’ owners, Y11 Sports and Media, are in talks to buy WRU-owned Cardiff, who went into administration briefly in April before being taken over by Welsh rugby’s governing body.
The WRU announced in October it wants to reduce the number of teams to three, with licences to be granted in Cardiff, the west and east.
Negotiations have continued, but the WRU has announced that a decision on how a team will be cut will now not happen before the end of 2025.
It had seemed there would be a straight shootout between Scarlets and Ospreys for the west licence before this other proposal – of Y11 taking over Cardiff – emerged, one which would enable Welsh rugby bosses to get to their desired number of three.
The WRU and Y11 have both declined to comment on this possibility, fuelling fears of Ospreys supporters about their side’s future, while Cardiff fans have been vocal on social media against any such proposed takeover deal.
When asked whether he had been given any assurances for next season, Jones said: “I don’t deal in rumours, I can only deal in facts.
“I’ve got no facts that I’ve been spoken to about or heard internally that suggests there’ll be anything other than the four teams we’ve got at the moment.
“We are working off that at the moment. I’m sure the powers that be will come forward and update everybody.”
