Exeter yet to begin contract talks with players

England centre Henry Slade (left) has played under Rob Baxter for his entire club career

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has said he has not yet started formal negotiations with players approaching the end of their contracts.

England centre Henry Slade is the highest-profile Exeter player whose contract runs out next summer, along with the likes of Josh Hodge and Olly Woodburn.

The Chiefs have a win, a draw and a loss from their first three Prem games of the season, as they aim to improve on their worst-ever top flight campaign last season.

"We didn't have a good season last season, there's no ulterior motive behind the fact, I want to see how we go," Baxter said.

"I want to see what the form of the squad is, whether we've got the formation of the squad correct, all those type of things.

"I think we're in the process of moving forward to rebuild a group of players that can be very successful together and I'm not going to just rush into re-signing everyone who's here now because I want to see how we go and where our growth still remains and I'm very comfortable with that."

Baxter understands that starting negotiations later could lead to players having talks with other teams.

But he feels it is right to ensure he gets the correct balance for Exeter as they aim to return to the glory days of the latter part of the last decade, when they reached six consecutive Premiership finals and won the 2020 European Champions Cup.

"In professional sport you're always playing for your future, you're always playing for what's going on around you," he said.

"I'm very keen for the players to embrace that. We talk a lot about it very openly.

"The biggest way these lads look after themselves, look after their careers, look after their families and look after each other is to play well and train well.

"That's the way it should be, I have no problem with that.

"Every player's playing for their future in every game they play."