Jack Nowell: 'Every chance' England winger could stay at Exeter, says boss Rob Baxter

Jack Nowell scored two tries in Exeter's win over Bristol on Friday

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter says there is "every chance" that England winger Jack Nowell will sign a new deal with the Premiership club.

The 29-year-old British and Irish Lions winger has spent his entire professional career at the Devon club.

But Nowell has been linked with a move to France when his deal ends in June.

"Conversations have been ongoing with Jack for a while and they're heading in a direction they're heading in," Baxter told BBC Sport.

"I think there's every chance that he will stay, but I'm not making decisions for him right now.

"Timescales are going to become pressing for decisions to get made for both parties, for him and for us, but they're not going to happen in the next 24 hours.

"Those discussions are ongoing and as far as I'm concerned they're heading along OK."

Nowell, who has won two Premiership titles and the 2020 European Champions Cup with the Chiefs, made his senior debut in an LV= Cup match in October 2012 as a 19-year-old and made his first league appearance a month later.

The former England Under-20 winger has scored 42 tries in 151 games for the Chiefs and been in the England squad at the past two World Cups, winning 42 international caps along the way.

"Jack and I have known each other for a long time, we've done a lot of contract discussions in the past - we can have three discussions about it in a day, it's not a big deal," added Baxter.

"It's not like we sit in a room and I push a piece of paper in front of him and say 'you sign that now or else you walk away'. Contract discussions are never like that and I don't expect they ever will be."

He added: "I'm not sitting here for one second saying Jack Nowell's definitely staying and I'm certainly not sitting here saying he's definitely going, it's just an ongoing situation."

Nowell's Exeter and England team-mate Sam Simmonds (left) has already agreed to leave the club next summer

Speculation over Nowell's future comes soon after another of Exeter's homegrown England and British and Irish Lions players, Sam Simmonds, agreed a move to France next season.

The 2020 European Player of the Year will move to Montpellier after the World Cup to replace Zach Mercer, who is returning to England to join Gloucester.

"It ended up being quite a quick call around Sam Simmonds for various reasons because everything just dropped into place with Montpellier losing a player, with Sam being available, so that was a very easy one once I sat down with Sam," said Baxter.

"It was almost a non-conversation. It wasn't a conversation about his contract, it was a non-conversation about his contract, that's how clear cut it was.

"Those circumstances happen and I'll be very open and honest with them. We said to Sam straight away 'you don't need to think there's any issue here, if it's easier to get it done before it all starts to drip and speculation happens, let's just make the announcement', which we did. And it'll be the same with Jack.

"If Jack wants us to make a statement on him leaving we'll make one, but we're certainly nowhere near that situation at the moment."