Jamie Roberts the latest big signing for Harlequins next season

Quins are getting their deals done early.

Welsh centre Jamie Roberts looks set to be the latest big signing for the Aiviva Premiership club, after Wales Online reported that he has turned down moves back to former club Cardiff and the Ospreys. They say the player will link up with Quins in December, after taking a brief break to do some studying at either Oxford or Cambridge, where he will play with one of the teams in the annual Varsity match. And in one of the stranger details of the deal, they say the qualified doctor may get a chance to improve his medical experience when he makes the transfer. Just like Johnny Sexton, Roberts will leave Racing Metro at the end of this season, and will be another big addition to a Quins squad that have struggled this season, failing to reach the knockout stages of the Champions Cup, and currently lying 8th in the Aviva Premiership table. Indeed Harlequins face a battle to even qualify for next season's Champions Cup. They're currently 9 points off the automatic qualification spots with just two games to play, and face a battle to secure the playoff usually awarded for 7th place. However, should Gloucester get the better of Edinburgh in tonight's Challenge Cup final, they will take the Premiership's designated playoff place, meaning Quins could only reach next season's Champions Cup by finishing 6th. Roberts looks like being the latest big name to commit to Conor O'Shea's side, with former Australian captain James Horwill, Welsh legend Adam Jones and Scottish flier Tim Visser already announced as signings for next season.