Saracens have signed an old pal of Maro Itoje from the England 2014 age-grade World Cup win

Preparations for the 2020/21 Championship season at Saracens have stepped up another notch with their recruitment of Harry Sloan, the 26-year-old midfielder who has spent the past two seasons playing for Ealing.

The recruitment of the back from Trailfinders, who have had two consecutive second-place finishes in the Championship, follows Tuesday's announcement that Will Hooley, the USA out-half, has been signed from Bedford, another second-tier rival. 

With rugby in England restarting with the backlog of games from the suspended 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership season, Sloan should feel right at home as he made 36 appearances for Harlequins in all competitions before switching to Ealing in 2018.    

There will also be familiar faces ready to greet the centre at Saracens as he played on the same England Junior World Championship-winning side in 2014 as Nick Tompkins, Tom Woolstencroft and Maro Itoje.

“It was a brilliant opportunity for me to join the club,” said Sloan to the Saracens website after his latest decision to move London clubs. “They got a really rich success and a great culture and it was a pretty easy decision.

“My ambition is to get back playing Premiership rugby, I was lucky enough to go to Ealing and get some games under my belt which was always a problem with a few injuries in the past.

“I’ve kicked on a bit and I feel like Sarries is the best place for me to develop and hopefully perform to the ability I want to perform to.”

Saracens boss Mark McCall added: “We’re excited to welcome Harry to Saracens. He's another player with experience of the both the Premiership and the Championship and has a real desire to show that he belongs at the top level.

“This is a great opportunity for him to progress his game and we will do all we can to support him to that end.”