George Ford is keen to hand Leicester Tigers a dose of Christmas cheer in the midst of a gloomy winter by signing a new improved deal.

While talks are ongoing both he and the struggling Premiership club are hopeful of an agreement before the end of the year which could see his salary rise to £600,000.

The England fly-half, 26, is one of a number of big-name Tigers out of contract at the end of the season, alongside World Cup stars Jonny May, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Ellis Genge.

Sportsmail understands re-signing, if all runs smoothly and it is finalised, should see Ford increase his yearly earnings by £50,000.

Ford might have hoped to gain parity with best friend and England captain Owen Farrell, who earns closer to £750,000, but having waited until after the World Cup to sort his future looks likely to stay at Leicester.

As Sportsmail reported last week, Bristol were interested if Ford left the Tigers but sources have indicated that he loves Leicester and is desperate to drag them up from 11th in the table.

Ford's signature is said to be vital at Welford Road, so if he commits to help Leicester escape their current parlous position in the Premiership it may well give the others confidence to agree their deals too.

May, Youngs, Cole and Genge are also still yet to settle their contracts - with some waiting for clarity on which direction the out-of-form club are heading in - and if not nailed down by January 1 they can officially speak to other teams.

Ford made his Leicester debut in 2009 but moved to Bath - to be coached by his father Mike - in 2013, before returning to the Tigers two years ago. Mike Ford, 53, now assists Leicester boss Geordan Murphy, 41, as the attack coach. Leicester, the most decorated English club having won 10 Premiership titles and two European Cups, finished 11th last season avoiding relegation by just 10 points.

They would be bottom of the table five games into the new campaign if Saracens had not lost 35 points due to their salary cap breaches.

The Tigers were hammered 36-13 by East Midlands rivals Northampton Saints on Saturday and have just four points from five games so far in the league.

The club are also up for sale for around £60m and are in the process of looking for backers to take over.

Meanwhile Welsh region the Scarlets are firming up their interest in Wales and Lions full-back Liam Williams who now looks certain to leave embattled Saracens in the summer.