Penrith Panthers forward Luron Patea has a year to run on his deal at the foot of the mountains, but he will be allowed to leave early if he can find another club.

The forward has been on the fringe of Ivan Cleary's side in recent times, but hasn't been able to break through for more first-grade minutes.

With the Panthers facing a salary cap crunch and needing to make a number of difficult decisions across the club, it's tipped that Patea, now 21 years of age, is no longer part of future plans at the foot of the mountains.

So off the radar is he that, per The League Scene, he has been given permission to explore his options for an immediate move away from the Panthers.

The Samoan and Australian eligible forward made his debut in the middle of 2024, but stuck behind a host of elite Penrith forwards, he has only been able to make 21 NRL appearances.

Of those, just five have come this year, and despite the club losing Lindsay Smith at the end of this season, it's understood there is no appetite for Patea to be the replacement.

In his five games this season, Patea has been limited for minutes, never playing more than half an hour, although his work rate in the middle third has still been strong, averaging 66 metres per contest and tackling effectively.

His best season came in 2025, with Patea scoring the only try of his career to date as part of 13 games for Cleary's side where he made 200 tackles and 21 tackle busts to go with nine offloads.