| Red tape ruins Henson's London dream • Henson wants move and argues his Ospreys contract is void• Wales centre's contention is disputed by OspreysGavin Henson's desire to play for a Premiership club in London this season hinges on whether his solicitor can establish that his contract with Ospreys, which runs until the end of the season, is void because he has not been on the payroll for more than a year.The 28-year-old Henson had hoped to be playing in the Premiership this month, but opted to take up an offer to compete in Strictly Come Dancing after Ospreys refused to tear up his contract and disputed the contention that it was no longer valid. The Welsh region today said they would listen to offers for the Wales and Lions centre but would not release him for nothing.The stance all but rules out Henson's hopes of a move to London because any transfer fee paid would be part of the Premiership's £4.1m salary cap, not just his wages. "We have not heard from anybody," the Ospreys' elite performance director, Andrew Hore, said. "If there is a club that wants to give us a call, we can sit down with them and Gavin's representatives and see where we get to."Ospreys are privately furious with Henson for trying to get out of his contract after the region had given him 14 months off so he could get over a series of injuries and spend time with his family. He sent an email at the beginning of July saying he was ready to play again this season.But at a meeting with the Ospreys' directors at the end of the month, he asked for his contract to be ripped up. When asked if Henson would guarantee that he would not play rugby for anyone else before May 2011, he did not give an answer and the discussions ended.Ospreys then had a letter from a firm of solicitors in Leicester, the city where Henson's agent, Matt Ginvert, is based, arguing that the player was free to talk to other clubs because his contract with the region was no longer effective given the length of time he had been unpaid.Henson, believing he was a free agent, became linked with Wasps. He denied this week that he had spoken to the club, or anyone else, but admitted that he had expected to be playing in the Premiership at the start of the season."I wanted the Ospreys to say that my contract is void and I think it is because they have not paid me for so long," said Henson. "They are dragging their heels on it and if it proves to be that the contract is still in place and I have to go back there I will do so. It is a pity it has got to all this."My solicitors are trying to establish whether I am a free agent. If I am, my agent will go and speak to clubs. London would be a good place for me at the moment. I have not spoken to anyone but that will all come in good time. We are having to work on the contract side of things and that is why I went to Strictly Come Dancing."Independent legal experts say the issue is complicated. Ordinarily, a contract would be void if an employee stopped receiving his or her wages, but in Henson's case it was he who asked for the unpaid leave of absence and it has always been the Ospreys' stated belief that he intended to resume his career with them. "Until it is resolved, Henson is not free to talk to any other club without the consent of Ospreys," one sports lawyer said.Gavin HensonOspreysRugby unionPaul Reesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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