The Penrith Panthers have been made aware of the four clubs interested in securing Moses Leota for 2028, but the prop doesn't have permission to sign anywhere yet.
Leota dropped a bombshell on the NRL earlier this year when he was given permission to explore his options on the open market well before November 1.
Leota, who is likely about to sign the final contract of his career, is set to remain at the foot of the mountains in 2027 before his future is up in the air.
He would be able to legally negotiate with rival clubs from November 1, but with Penrith facing such an enormous contract crunch at the end of 2027, with a host of players off-contract and seeking upgrades including Leota, they gave their long-term prop permission to have a look around early.
The move allowed Leota to understand his worth, and for Penrith to understand whether they were a realistic chance of keeping the forward long-term as they plan for the future.
Wide World of Sports' The Mole has revealed that the Canberra Raiders, Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans and Sydney Roosters are all in the mix, with interest coming from at least two other clubs.
Leota's preference, according to his manager Gavin Orr, is to remain at the Panthers, but it will all come down to space under the salary cap - and that requires Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary to make decisions on their futures before an offer can be tabled to Leota.
“It's a tough situation for Penrith because they have so many players in demand and Moses understands that,” Orr was quoted as saying.
“We reported to them the interest from at least six clubs with the Raiders, Eels, Titans and Roosters leading the way, but we have to wait until they see what Cleary and Yeo are doing and how much money they have in the cap.
“They want to keep him and he wants to stay, but it all comes down to the cap.”
The issue for Penrith is that both Cleary and Yeo are likely to wait until at least November 1 to test their free agency value, which will allow Leota to legally begin looking around.
The longer Leota waits, the tougher it may get for him to sign on with a rival club as they look in other directions to secure their own futures amid the looming threat of the PNG Chiefs raiding the player market properly from November 1.
As it stands, neither Cleary or Yeo have said they are likely to leave Penrith, but Cleary has only shut down the idea of playing rugby union or going to the New Zealand Warriors where he would block his brother Jett, while Yeo has also shut down rumours he has begun negotiations over his future.
The duo headline Penrith's cap crunch, but the likes of Paul Alamoti, Sione Fonua, Liam Martin, Isaiah Papali'i, Luron Patea, Billy Scott, Blaize Talagi and Brian To'o are also off-contract at the end of 2027, while the club recently re-signed dummy half and possible future captain Mitch Kenny on a long-term deal.
Kenny's contract itself will put more pressure on the future salary cap of the NRL's most successful outfit in recent years.
