THE Dragons are keen to thrash out a new deal with the Welsh Rugby Union amid reports of the governing body taking a stake in the four professional clubs.

Negotiations are ongoing between the Rodney Parade club, the Ospreys, Scarlets, Cardiff and the WRU about a new long-term strategy.

It was reported in WalesOnline that one possibility is the governing body taking a 20 per cent stake in the quartet for wiping out some of their debts.

That would come at a cost with the national coaching staff having greater say over selection issues and where players are based.

The Dragons only moved into private ownership 15 months ago after they had been sold to the WRU in 2017.

After frequent grumbling about how involvement from the governing body was holding them back, the long-running saga of a takeover was completed in June, 2023.

The deal, which included the entire Rodney Parade site, saw then chairman David Buttress, current chairman David Wright and Miami-based businessman Hoyoung Huh become equal partners in the professional club.

Now, despite so much toil and frustration to be free of the WRU, one of the options is to hand a chunk of the Dragons back to Principality Stadium.

Speaking to BBC’s Scrum V podcast, chief executive Rhys Blumberg said they are keen to come to some sort of new arrangement.

RETURN? The Welsh Rugby Union could take a stake in the Dragons and their three rivals (Image: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans Agency)

“From the Dragons' perspective, we are keen to move forward with a deal with the WRU which sees us having more money and gives us an opportunity to be more competitive with the other three and then further afield with rest of the league,” said Blumberg, who joined from Cardiff last summer.

"There's a lot to happen over the next couple months and hopefully we will get an agreement that gives us a solid footing to progress in terms of budget for the next three years.”

Any deal wouldn’t be as simple as the WRU giving all clubs X amount for 20 per cent.

“There are a number of proposals that have been discussed to try and find something that works for all four, which is challenging because there are four different ownership groups with four different objectives,” said Blumberg.

“It's a complicated situation, it's not as straightforward as throwing in one deal that suits everybody.

“Nothing is done yet but I would say that the WRU executive that has taken control are a huge step forward from where they were.

“They've really tried to make it work, trying to get us more money and make us all more sustainable.

“That goes for all four of us, so we are very positive at the Dragons and are hopeful that we can get a deal done.”