Leicester Tigers have recruited three of England’s brightest young talents ahead of the 2011/12 season.
The nine-times Premiership champions have agreed terms with Kieran Brookes, Graham Kitchener and Micky Young who are all currently with the England Saxons squad at the Churchill Cup.
Brookes, a prop, and scrum-half Young will move from Newcastle Falcons, while second-rower Kitchener was part of the Worcester Warriors squad which gained promotion to the Aviva Premiership in the 2010/11 season.
Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “We’re delighted to be able to add such promising young talent to our squad. We hope they all enjoy a successful Churchill Cup this summer and we look forward to them joining us in time for the build-up to the new season.
“We’ve brought a number of young players through to our first-team squad in the last couple of seasons and we think these three have the potential to develop well within our environment.
“It is important for this club to retain a strong, young English core to the squad and we have an excellent record in that regard.”
Brookes, 20, has played almost 40 first-team games in two years with Newcastle Falcons, while 22-year-old Young has made 79 senior appearances since his debut in 2007/08.
Kitchener, 21, was among the try-scorers in the England Saxons win over the USA last Saturday and made 32 appearances in Worcester’s Championship-winning season.