Disaffected Wales international James Hook could be on his way to French Top 14 side Bayonne after becoming increasingly frustrated with his position at the Ospreys.

Hook has openly spoken out about his unhappiness at losing the fly-half berth to Dan Biggar, and now it seems that Bayonne could be ready to step in and rescue him from his current situation.

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The Basque club has been linked with a plethora of big-name stars in recent months but has so far failed to land the marquee signing it craves. Sacked Wallaby winger Lote Tuqiri was apparently close to a deal until he upped his wage demands, but now Hook is on their radar after essentially issuing a ‘come and get me’ plea.

Fellow Top 14 sides Toulon, Stade Toulousain and Clermont Auvergne are also monitoring the situation according to a report the Western Mail.

Biggar’s emergence has seen Hook switched to an unfamiliar inside centre role with the Ospreys, a move which has further undermined his claims for the Wales No 10 shirt currently resting with fly-half rival Stephen Jones – who himself enjoyed a successful stint in France with Clermont Auvergne between 2004-2006.

Tuqiri's future, meanwhile, is as clouded as ever following a whirlwind trip to hold talks with potential suitors. Bayonne appeared to close the door recently when they went public with their unhappiness at the player’s spiralling wage demands, while a hinted switch to the Ospreys has also failed to materialise.

Ospreys boss Scott Johnson told the South Wales Evening Post he was “comfortable” with the region’s present squad, adding: “We are not looking at Lote Tuqiri at the moment”.

The current uncertainty over Gavin Henson’s future means Johnson has not ruled out additional signings, but it seems that Tuqiri's potential wages have put them off as well, as the player increasingly seems to be pricing himself out of a potential move to Europe.

“If Gavin comes back in a short period of time that covers that void. If not, we have got to move on and start looking and that person might come locally. I also don’t know whether we can afford Lote’s bill. We have got budgetary constraints as well,” he said this week.

That has now opened the possibility of Tuqiri signing for Australia’s Queensland Reds as an amateur, to circumnavigate his current ban preventing him from playing professional rugby union Down Under following his sacking by the ARU. He is also being linked with a potential return to rugby league in Australia as he scrambles around to try and secure a deal that will help compensate for the loss of his national contract.