WARRIORS chief Richard Hill is on the hunt for an ‘out-and-out winger’ to replace Edinburgh-bound Nikki Walker, who has had the final year of his Worcester contract cancelled by mutual consent.

The Sixways head coach believes Walker had his head turned to the possibility of a return north of the border while training with the Scotland Six Nations squad.

However, the 24-times-capped wing leaves Sixways with Hill’s blessing after the former England scrum-half admitted the move hadn’t worked out as well as hoped for either party.

Before the news of Walker’s departure broke, Hill had said he was on the look-out for a utility-back to add to his attacking options, but the Worcester boss is now in the market for a specialist wideman.

“With finding a replacement for Nikki, it is still quite early in the process,” Hill said.

“We’ve had a couple of weeks and we have a number of players on the list.

“We have a list of players in all positions just in case because you never know what might happen.

“We’re probably about 30 or 40 per cent down the line, so there is still work to be done.

“We will be looking to replace Nikki with an out-and-out winger ideally.

“Ben Howard will move up into the first team next season and he can cover wing and full-back, so we will be looking for a specialist winger.

“Andy Short covered wing and centre, so Ben will now cover wing and full-back, which means we will need one more out-and-out wing.”

With a number of high-profile players, including the likes of Matt Kvesic, Andy Goode and Matt Mullan, quitting Worcester this summer, there has been some disquiet among the Warriors fanbase.

However, Hill has moved to allay these concerns and has spoken of his excitement about how the squad is shaping up for next term.

He added: “The fans’ fears about players leaving will be eased soon.

“At this stage it is difficult to put the whole picture together.

“I’d love to be able to show everyone the complete plan for next season because ,when you see the squad for next year on paper, we are very excited about it.

“We have good people coming in – good culturally, good professionals — to make a younger squad.

“We’re reducing the age of the squad because we want to have players here for the longer term.

“In the past, myself and other coaches have signed players for their last contract and that can fill a hole for a little bit and they can do a good job, but if you’re looking to build a side for five, six, seven years down the line you have to go for younger players.

“That’s the sort of recruitment policy, broadly speaking, we are going for with younger players who should be here for the longer term.”