Toulon owner will pay 'any price' to keep Wiko

Money will be no object when it comes to keeping Jonny Wilkinson at Toulon according to the club’s owner Mourad Boudjellal.

England fly-half Wilkinson, the record points scorer in Test rugby, moved to the south of France in the summer of 2009 and has made a huge impression, helping the Top 14 outfit to the final of last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup and qualification for this season’s Heineken Cup.

He has started the new season in a rich vein of form, scoring 23 points in Saturday’s 28-16 win over champions Clermont Auvergne, but his contract expires at the end of the season.

However, comic book magnate Boudjellal has told French rugby magazine Midi Olympique that talks have already started over a contract extension and he will pay “any price” to keep England’s 2003 World Cup hero at his club.

He said: “I want to extend [his contract] and I didn’t wait until after Saturday’s game to begin discussions. It’s actually my main priority but I’m not very worried. The player wants to stay and his president wants to keep him at any price so we should come to an agreement quite quickly.”