Munster head coach Anthony Foley is confident 'born and bred Munster man' Simon Zebo will resist the lure of a move to France and commit his future to Munster.
Zebo, Conor Murray, Keith Earls, Tommy O’Donnell, James Cronin and CJ Stander are among several Munster players who will see their current contracts end next June.
Toulouse are reported to be interested in Zebo, and Foley admitted that he is not surprised the talented fullback has attracted the attentions of Munster's European rivals.
“I’ve coached Simon since he was 19 years of age. I know him a long time, I know the qualities he has and can understand why teams would want him," said Foley.
"It’s inevitable that he’s going to be linked with other top clubs in Europe and we’ll definitely be doing our best to keep him.
"The last time he was negotiating his contract, other teams were in for him. It’s just a sign of how good a player he is. People will try and snap him up, but he’s a born and bred Munster man so hopefully we can hold on to him.
“It’s a professional world. It’s inevitable that when contracts come up people are entitled to look elsewhere. From my point of view, I want them to be in the red of Munster and representing Ireland."
Foley also confirmed that CJ Stander will take on the captain's role as Peter O’Mahony begins his recuperation process after suffering a knee ligament injury in the World Cup last month.
O'Mahony is facing a lengthy spell out, but Foley is confident there are enough leaders in the dressing room to fill the void and help Munster launch a successful assault on Europe this season.
“It’s going to take time," he said of the back-row's injury. "He hasn’t been operated on yet so that will happen in the next week or fortnight. From there we probably won't see him for a massive chunk of the season.
"It’s disappointing for the lad, he’s our club captain. I’m sure he’ll be in and around the group and willing the boys to make sure we’re in competitions when he comes back.
“CJ is going to be captain for Europe, Peter is still our club captain. We also have a good leadership group. It’s important it’s not a one-man show."
Munster begin their Champions Cup campaign on Saturday 14 November with a home clash against Treviso - Leicester and Stade Francais complete the line-up of opponents in Pool 4 - and Foley admitted that the challenge of reaching the summit of European club rugby is becoming more difficult with every passing year.
“The goalposts have shifted since I played against Swansea in Thomond Park [in Munster's first European game back in 1995]. It’s bigger. Obviously, with the meritocracy, all the big teams are in it, everybody has to qualify to get in it. It's always expanding, looking for new teams, new competitors.
“We’ve as good a chance as anyone to progress but the most important thing for us is to make sure we get out of our group, keep our eye on the job at hand and make sure that there’s no slip-ups in Thomond Park.
“I think if we can re-establish Thomond Park as a fortress it will gives us a good solid footing to hopefully progress in this competition.
“Treviso are first up, and watching the game against Leinster last week they’ve quality players there. A lot of their momentum comes from Robert Barbieri and Alessandro Zanni up front. They’re colossal for them. We know each other quite well, we’ll be fully focused."
