A rumoured €500,000 a year and no Johnny Sexton in the way of his favoured position. You'd have to think that Ian Madigan would be mad to do anything other than leave Leinster when his contract us up at the end of the season. When he didn't even make it off the bench against Bath last weekend, thoughts have to start moving to what is next.
And sure enough, that's exactly what's happening at the moment. Contract renewal season is upon us and Madigan is attracting interest from the Aviva Premiership and speaking to the media in Dublin yesterday, the Leinster man was in no mood to hide the realities of the situation.
At the moment, just going through the process of weighing up my options. Still waiting for Leinster and the IRFU to get back, but the way it is now, you have to look at all your options.
It's not an 'I'm out of here as soon as possible' but it's rather easy to read through the lines on that one. Madigan even went on to discuss the teams involved. First up was Bristol, the ambitious Championship side ready to take the Aviva Premiership by storm. However, for Madigan, that may not be the most secure move.
I certainly wouldn’t be looking to play in the Championship. If you did decide to move to a club like Bristol, you’re taking a massive risk in them not getting promoted. That would definitely factor into my decision, if I was considering going there.
Bristol are rumoured to be offering Madigan €500,00 a year to sign on the dotted but they're not the only English side with whom the 26 year old has been linked. And just because Bristol may be a risk, that doesn't mean Madigan is distancing himself from a move. Instead he's fully up front with a move that would be very appealing indeed.
The appeal of a club like Harlequins is that they are a club that looks to win The Premiership every year. They’re not just there to make up the numbers or to look back on their season and go ‘oh we made top four this year, that was a successful year’.
You’ve got an Irish coach there, Conor O’Shea, who plays a very expansive style.
And while it seems likely that a move to England is on the cards, Madigan is conscious that that may not be the best option for his international prospects. In that regard, perhaps a move to one of the other provinces could be appealing.
I think you’d be naive to rule it out. The IRFU probably want to keep as many players in Ireland as possible. If you are within Ireland, you are giving yourself the best possible chance to be picked for the national team.
Regardless of the destination, it seems almost certain that Madigan won't be warming the bench with Leinster next year and it will certainly be interesting to see what comes of this over the next couple of months.
Sean O'Brien, Ian Madigan and Eoin Reddan were speaking at the launch of the Life style Sports "We Are Many, We Are Leinster" campaign.
