Championship rugby club London Irish appears to have ruled out the possibility of developing its own stadium in favour of ground sharing with Brentford Football Club.

The club – which was relegated from the Premiership last season – released a statement saying that while it had been “linked with a number of possible stadium developments in London”, talks had now begun with the London Borough of Hounslow about the possibility of playing at the new stadium proposed for the West London football team.

Brentford is in the advanced stages of planning for a 20,000-capacity stadium on Lionel Road which would replace its Griffin Park home. It has been designed by AFL Architects.

Earlier this month the council submitted a compulsory purchase order for the land it wishes to build on, moving the project a step closer. If successful, the ground could be built in time for the start of the 2019/20 season.

London Irish has played at Reading FC’s Madejski Stadium since 2000, but has made no secret of wanting to move back to its roots in the capital.

Championship club Brentford said it “welcomed” the discussions between the rugby team and the council.

“Brentford Football Club’s vision is to have a new 20,000-seat Brentford Community Stadium for both professional football and rugby, subject to the relevant planning permission,” said the club in a statement.

“Over a number of years, the new stadium project team has held discussions with several rugby clubs, one of which is London Irish.”