Liam Williams will have the option to leave Welsh rugby at the end of the season with clubs in Japan keen to acquire his services, Wales Online has learned.
The 31-year-old full-back is under contract at Cardiff but it won't stop clubs in the Far East from making a move for the 83-cap international and we understand Kubota Spears are considering putting together a deal worth £500,000 a season to land Lions star Williams.
There has been a lot of uncertainty in Welsh rugby this season with the Professional Rugby Board putting a freeze on the four regions offering players contracts.
Wages are also set to drop significantly over the next couple of seasons in a bid to make the Welsh game more sustainable financially, with a salary cap expected to be introduced.
Once the new deal between the WRU and the four regions is completed the highest salary in Wales will total £280,000 a season.
While there are less opportunities overseas than there were previously due to quotas on foreign players, clubs in France and Japan can still comfortably outbid anything in Wales.
The financial situation at Wales' four regions is dire and the teams will have to trim down their squads over the next year.
This will inevitably mean a lot of the top players having the chance to pursue lucrative contracts in France or Japan.
It is unclear whether Williams would be interested in moving to the far east, but the situation in Wales has put Japanese and French clubs on red alert.
Kubota Spears are one of the wealthiest clubs in world rugby and have South Africa's World Cup winning hooker Malcolm Marx on their books, along with former New Zealand centre Ryan Crotty.
Even though Wales are struggling badly at Test level their top players are still seen as attractive propositions for clubs overseas. Williams has had a troubled start to the Six Nations, picking up yellow cards in the defeats to Scotland and Ireland, but he will be hoping for better things versus England next time out.
Wales lock Will Rowlands has already signed for French giants Racing 92, while Ross Moriarty, Dillon Lewis, Nicky Smith and Josh Adams are also attracting significant interest.
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