Toulouse Olympique have signed fullback Olly Ashall-Bott on a three-year deal from fellow Super League side Huddersfield Giants.
The French side’s debut in the top flight has been overshadowed by the vaccination row which has seen their captain Johnathon Ford depart and fullback Mark Kheirallah told by boss Sylvain Houles that he will not play for the club again.
Now Toulouse have made the first step towards patching up their squad with Ashall-Bott making an immediate move for a transfer fee.
The 24-year-old has only made 10 appearances for Huddersfield in 13 months at the club since signing from Widnes Vikings, the final one incidentally coming in Toulouse as he scored a try off the bench in the season opener.
“After playing in Toulouse a week ago, I saw that the Toulouse have everything to be a Super League club fighting to win trophies in the years to come and I can’t wait to be part of it,” said Ashall-Bott.
“After talking with Sylvain and Cédric (Garcia, Toulouse chief executive), their ambition and objectives are very clear, and that corresponds to what I want for my career. It didn’t take much to convince me and I can’t wait to work with Sylvain.”
The Giants already have Will Pryce, Tui Lolohea and Ashton Golding as options for the fullback spot and were happy to let Ashall-Bott go.
Giants managing director Richard Thewlis said: “This was not something we sought as a club however when Ollie’s representative made us aware of the opportunity that Toulouse presented to him it would have been grossly unfair to stand in his way.
“He has the fullback spot guaranteed and financial security beyond where any club in the UK would be able to go so for him it really was a no brainer to agree the move and from our side the fee is fair and compensates us for being a man down in the squad so to speak.”