The Newcastle Knights look set to re-sign star Mitchell Pearce on a one-year extension, reports The Daily Telegraph.
It comes despite a horrid off-season that saw him involved in a texting scandal involving a female staff member at the club that also resulted in his wedding being called off.
Negotiations between Pearce and the Knights have been ongoing for months now, but there is growing confidence that a deal will be reached before the start of the season, which will be sure to be a weight off Pearce's shoulders as he looks to bounce back in 2021 and put his off-season troubles behind him.
It's likely that Pearce's deal will be significantly lower than his previous $1 million-a-year deal, which will enable the Knights to strengthen in other areas of the ground.
Coach Adam O'Brien has made it known that Pearce, 32, is still a required player at the club and the plan is to keep him at the club until at least the end of next year and the club will work out where to go from there.
Pearce is said to be in a much better head-space mentally after the off-season period and will be a key piece to the puzzle for the Knights if they are to make a return back to the finals.
The veteran has played 297 NRL games since making his first-grade debut for the Sydney Roosters in 2007.
Pearce played 11 seasons for the Tricolours before crossing to the Knights at the end of the 2017 season.
Newcastle face-off against defending champions, the Melbourne Storm, in a pre-season hit-out in Albury on Saturday before beginning their 2021 campaign against Canterbury on Friday, March 12 at McDonald Jones Stadium.
