Sale Sharks second row James Phillips has signed a new one-year contract extension, with utility back James O'Connor leaving the Premiership club.

Phillips, 31, joined from Bath last summer on a two-year deal but Sale have now extended the contract until 2021.

Phillips said: "I have really enjoyed my first year at the club."

O'Connor, 28, has been released from his three-year contract to sign a deal with Rugby Australia, allowing him to be selected for the autumn World Cup.

"I will be forever grateful to (director of rugby) Steve Diamond, all the players and coaches, and the Sale Sharks supporters who have all helped facilitate my journey back to full power," O'Connor said.

Ex-Toulon man O'Connor played the last of his 44 Tests in 2013, and made 31 appearances for Sale in two years at the club.

Former Bristol and Exeter Chiefs player Phillips featured 30 times for Diamond's side last season.

"We have made some fantastic signings in the pack for the new season, so I'm looking forward to building on the progress we made last year with the new boys that are coming in," Phillips added.

Former international wing Tom James has joined Scarlets on a two-year deal.

The 32-year-old was capped 12 times for Wales, made 163 appearances for Cardiff Blues and also spent two years with Exeter Chiefs in England.

James took a break in 2018 while having treatment for depression, but returned with Merthyr, Pontypridd and Cardiff in the Premiership.

"I can't wait to get started. I am absolutely delighted to have secured this move with the Scarlets," he said.

James is the Blues' record try scorer with 60, but left the region by mutual consent in May 2019 after making only one appearance for them during the season.

"At the end of last season I felt I still had plenty to offer professional rugby, but the opportunity didn't come at the Blues," he added.

"I have worked hard in the off-season, feel in good shape and the hunger is there again after a tough couple of years.

"This is an exciting move for me, especially with the way the Scarlets play the game and hopefully I can also offer my experience to the younger players in the squad.

"I want to prove to people that Tom James is back."

Scarlets have 14 players with Wales preparing for the World Cup and are likely to have a large number involved when the final squad is announced.

"It is going to test the depth of our squad more than any other, so to be able to bring in an international player as cover as well as someone who will be challenging for a starting spot when those players return is invaluable," said Scarlets rugby manager Jon Daniels.

"As well as being a proven try-scorer, he will give us a powerful, physical presence coming off the wing

"He came in for some fitness testing with us and was one of the top performers in the squad."

Harlequins have signed South Africa international Travis Ismaiel from Super Rugby side Bulls on an undisclosed deal.

Ismaiel, 27, amassed 10 tries in 39 Super Rugby games following 22 tries in 42 games in the Currie Cup.

The Pretoria-born wing scored on his one Springboks appearance, crossing against Wales in a 2018 friendly loss.

He arrives at Quins as injury cover for Nathan Earle, who ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in April.

"I have no doubt he will be a huge presence on the pitch for us with his excellent aerial skills," said head of rugby Paul Gustard. "He is fast and is a big man who enjoys running hard.

"We will look for him to work hard to get his hands on the ball as much as we can because, like all our wings, they have magic in them, and we want them to show the league why they are so special."

Leicester Tigers have signed South African Super Rugby duo EW Viljoen and Hanro Liebenberg and back-rower Jordan Coghlan from Nottingham.

Tigers have recruited utility back Viljoen from Stormers and back-rower Liebenberg, 23, from Bulls while Coghlan, 26, joins after three seasons in the Championship.

Viljoen, 24, moves to Leicester after featuring 28-times for the Stormers.

"EW adds a lot to our outside-back stocks," said boss Geordan Murphy.

"EW is a versatile, skilful and exciting player to have as part of our group.

"Hanro is an aggressive ball-carrier and a physical player around the field, in the best traditions of South African back-row players."

Irish-born Coghlan, also a back-rower, played for Leinster and Munster before joining Nottingham.

Murphy added: "Jordan is a physical, athletic and experienced player who we are looking forward to welcoming in to the club."

The dawn of NHL free agency was crazy, including tons of player movement, a few high-profile trades and the greatest NHL unicorn of them all -- a signed offer sheet.

You might be wondering what exactly an offer sheet is and why the Montreal Canadiens applied one on 21-year-old Canes center Sebastian Aho. Here's a quick explainer:

What is an offer sheet?

Offer sheets can be fun. Offer sheets can be chaos. That's probably why we rarely see them in the NHL.

Offer sheets are a tool given to general managers through the collective bargaining agreement. A GM (let's call him GM of Team A) can identify restricted free agents on other teams (Team B) who have yet to sign. The GM on Team A can register an offer sheet for the restricted free agent on Team B and say what term he would like to sign that player for and for how much. The player on Team B can decide whether he wants to sign that offer sheet. If he does, his original team has a week to decide if it's going to match that offer sheet. If Team B matches it, it's on the hook for paying that exact contract. If it doesn't match it, the player goes to Team A, and Team A has to send compensation to Team B.

That compensation is draft picks, the bounty which is relative to the player's value. There's one caveat: Team A must use its own draft picks, not ones that it traded for. Here is the set compensation for this season:

What did the Canadiens offer for Aho?

The average annual value (AAV) of the offer was $8.454 million, which, as you can see above, is quite calculated. It skirts the top end of the fifth category, which means the Canadiens would give up a first-round pick, second-round pick and third-round pick if Aho ends up coming over. Had they offered a few more dollars, they would have to surrender two first-rounders.

The Canadiens reportedly considered targeting another RFA, Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but Montreal thought it had a better chance of landing Aho. Why? Because the small-market Hurricanes are vulnerable financially. Aho wasn't arbitration-eligible, which meant Carolina had a ton of leverage and was lowballing Aho in negotiations. Aho's camp reportedly asked for $9.5 million per year, a figure at which the Canes scoffed. They reportedly countered with $7.5 million.

This is how the Canadiens think they can burn the Canes: Their offer to Aho was significantly front-loaded, with signing bonuses worth $11.3 million this summer and $9.8 million next summer. Add in the salary, and that's $21 million in real dollars that the Canes will have to pay over the next 12 months. Tom Dundon might have the money, but is he willing to spend it?

Why did the Canadiens do it?

As Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said in his news conference on Monday, his only obligations are to Montreal ownership and Montreal fans. He isn't in the business of keeping his other GMs happy. (Our take: Good for him! This makes the NHL way more fun). Aho would vault to the team's No. 1 center role and give the team enviable depth down the gut. The Canadiens clearly targeted the small-market Hurricanes knowing they might be vulnerable.

Are the Hurricanes upset about this?

You bet they are! Everything was status quo until GM Don Waddell got an email at 2:40 p.m. Monday telling him what the Canadiens had done. Waddell said he was surprised that the offer wasn't for more, but he was clearly upset that the term was short: only five years.

If the Canes end up accepting that offer, it walks Aho right up to unrestricted free agency while he's still in his prime. Not ideal.

What are the Canes going to do?

The Hurricanes have a week to decide if they're going to match. If they do, then that's it. They get to keep Aho (at those exact terms), but they cannot trade him for a year as a stipulation.

All indications point to the Hurricanes matching the offer, despite having to shell out all that cash early.

Why don't we see offer sheets more often?

Frankly, because the NHL can be an old boys club, and GMs don't like to ruffle their peers or go against the status quo. There's another mitigating factor: Offer sheets can be expensive. In an era in which youth rules, it's important to hit on draft picks and try to win while your stars are still on entry-level deals. If you offer more than $10,568,589 for a player, you're on the hook to give four first-round picks (though it can be spread over a five-year period). That's steep.

Has there been an offer sheet before?

In the salary-cap era (since 2005-06), there have been eight offer sheets. The last time we saw one was 2013, when the Calgary Flames offer-sheeted Ryan O'Reilly for two years and $10 million, which was decent money at the time. The Avalanche matched it, though they ended up trading O'Reilly to the Sabres. Before that, Philly made an offer to Nashville RFA Shea Weber in 2012 (the Predators matched), and San Jose offered Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson in 2010 (the Blackhawks matched).

There was a fun situation in 2008: Over a seven-day span, the Canucks tried to snag David Backes from the Blues, then Vancouver tried to sign Steve Bernier from the Canucks. Both teams eventually matched for their respective players. The last time a team declined to match an offer sheet was 2007. Edmonton put in a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet on Anaheim's Dustin Penner. Then-Anaheim GM Brian Burke infamously called his Edmonton counterpart Kevin Lowe "gutless" and declined to match.

Will we see more offer sheets?

This was the year we were supposed to finally get another offer sheet, and we got one! It's a historically deep RFA class this summer, and many of the players haven't signed yet. The working theory: Everyone is waiting for the first domino to fall, which will set the market.

The most speculation on offer sheets thus far has centered on Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner and Lightning center Brayden Point. Other possibilities: Jets winger Patrik Laine, Jets center Kyle Connor, Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk and Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen. It would be surprising if there are more. However, if the Canes get back to the Canadiens early in the week and say they're going to match for Aho, who's to say Montreal won't use those draft picks and cap space to go for another one of the available RFAs? After all, Bergevin showed he isn't wed to conventional thinking.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is set for talks with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this week, while Romelu Lukaku wants his future resolved before the squad leave for their preseason tour, sources have told ESPN FC.

Pogba is scheduled to appear at the adidas store in New York on Tuesday afternoon before flying back to Manchester to begin preseason training.

- When does the transfer window close?

It will be the first time the France international has spoken to Solskjaer face-to-face since suggesting he wants a "new challenge" amid interest from Real Madrid and Juventus.

Solskjaer is keen to keep Pogba at Old Trafford and, according to sources, will attempt to convince the 26-year-old to stay.

The midfielder has three years left on his contract and has been told the club are under no pressure to sell.

Lukaku, meanwhile, is keen on a move to Inter Milan but in the absence of an acceptable bid from the Serie A side will be expected to fly to Australia with the rest of Solskjaer's squad on July 7.

The striker has indicated to the club he wants a clearer picture of his future before the flight to Perth.

United are scheduled to face Inter in Singapore on July 20.

Lukaku and Jesse Lingard reported back early to Carrington to Monday despite being given extra time off after taking part in June internationals.

All senior players are expected back this week with the exception of Alexis Sanchez, who is still involved in the Copa America with Chile.

Solskjaer, according to sources, will use training this week to finalise his squad for the preseason tour of Australia, Singapore, Shanghai and Norway.

Youngsters Dylan Levitt, Ethan Hamilton, Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong, Mason Greenwood and James Garner were all part of the senior squad on Monday but have not yet been told whether they will fly to Perth on Sunday.