DIRECTOR of rugby Alan Solomons reckons departing centre Ben Te’o may hold off deciding on a new club until after the World Cup.

The England international will leave Worcester Warriors at the end of the season but his future destination has yet to be confirmed.

Speculation over his next move has been rife with Premiership outfit Gloucester, French club Toulon and Japanese Super Rugby franchise Sunwolves all rumoured to be interested in securing his signature.

But Solomons believes all of the 32-year-old’s focus is on sealing a place on the plane to Japan for this summer’s World Cup.

“Ben is coming towards the end of his career and has got to decide what he wants to do,” Solomons said.

“He is playing for us at the moment and giving absolutely everything.

“I think the World Cup is his goal at this point and then he has got to decide what he thinks will be appropriate for him.

“He has had a fantastic career, both in league and union, and has been playing really well for us and we are pleased to have him here at this moment.”

Asked whether it was Te’o’s decision to bring his Warriors career to a close, Solomons said: “There’s absolutely no question about that.

“I think the time has come for Ben to move on.”

Te’o joined Warriors on a deal reportedly worth an estimated £350,000 a year in 2016.

During his time at Worcester, Te’o earned 18 England caps and played for British and Irish Lions in 2017.

But his unavailability has frustrated Warriors’ supporters.

Over the past three seasons the marquee player has scored eight tries in 34 appearances with 10 of those outings coming this term.

“Because of injuries and England commitments he has not been able to play a whole heap during my time here,” Solomons said.

“But in the back-end of this season he has played quite a bit and made a really valuable contribution to the team.

“He is a good bloke and I get on well with him.

“It’s not his fault if he has an injury or he has got an international commitment.

“It’s good to have Ben in our team bringing that international experience with him.”

But Solomons feels Warriors will be able to cope without Te’o due to the promotion of Ollie Lawrence and Will Butler from the academy.

“Of course we are sad to see players go but that’s professional rugby,” Solomons said.

“Ben and Wynand (Olivier) will leave but we have got Will and Ollie coming up. That’s natural.

“It’s the same in the lock position where we have got Cleggy (Justin Clegg) and Kitch (Andrew Kitchener) coming through.

“You are going to get guys moving on as they come to the tail-end of their careers and other guys replacing them.”