Powerhouse flanker Jacques Vermeulen looks set to be the latest Exeter Chiefs stalwart to leave the club with the South African forward linked with a move to Japan.

Vermeulen, 29, joined Chiefs ahead of the 2019/20 campaign from South African side the Sharks and became an instant hit at Sandy Park with his first season culminating in Exeter doing the double in the Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership.

Should Vermeulen depart in June as reported by Rugby Planet, that will leave Henry Slade as the only remaining player from the team that started against Racing 92 in that 2019/20 European final, with Jack Yeandle the other player still at the club who was in the squad at Ashton Gate that day. It comes as a reminder that the turnover of frontline players at Chiefs in recent years has simply been staggering as the club have been forced to ‘cut their cloth accordingly’ in a harsh financial landscape after the Coronavirus pandemic which saw them post a much improved £419,000 loss in their latest accounts released earlier this month, as opposed to £4.5m the previous year following.

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The confirmation of the signing of Australian international flanker Tom Hooper on a lucrative contract that is reported to be close to double what Rugby Australia and the Brumbies were willing to pay him, has added further fuel to the fire over Vermeulen’s impending departure with his contract expiring this summer.

Elsewhere in the pack, Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter is reported to be talking to former England U20s captain Lewis Chessum about the 21-year-old second row moving to Devon in 2025/26.

RugbyPass report Chessum is set to be released from his contract with Leicester Tigers to sign a one-season deal with Japanese side the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars before targeting a return to the Premiership with Chiefs.

While Chessum doesn’t fit into the primary criteria for players Baxter is looking to recruit this summer, searching for immediate first team players, at 6ft 9in he is considered a physical specimen who can potentially be polished into a gem.