FULL-BACK Chris Pennell says he wouldn’t be surprised to see England centre Manu Tuilagi in the Sixways crowd supporting Worcester Warriors this season.

Warriors’ director of rugby Dean Ryan quashed rumours this week linking Tuilagi to a move to Worcester.

Pennell said: “Manu’s best mate is Ryan Bower and those two are very close.

“It was nice of Manu to come down to support Ryan in the Championship play-off final second leg in May.

“You never know, he might come down another couple of times this season if he’s about and support us again.”

Tuilagi’s Leicester Tigers deal ends next summer and Pennell admits he often reads about transfer speculation.

“You can see these stories all the time and perhaps it’s the first time Worcester have been involved in something like it,” said Pennell.

“It’s a nice thing for the club to be linked with someone of Manu’s stature and it’s certainly not a bad thing.

“You see headlines with players linked to other clubs all the time. As a player, you chat about these stories for a bit and then quickly move on because ultimately what matters is this season.”