Penrith Panthers hope to confirm the return of Ivan Cleary as their new coach "in the coming days" after he was released by Wests Tigers.
The Tigers on Sunday announced that Cleary has left the club with two years remaining on his contract.
Michael Maguire has replaced the 47-year-old, who is set for another spell at Penrith three years after he was sacked by the Panthers.
Panthers chairman Dave O'Neill is optimistic that Cleary's appointment will be announced imminently.
"We were pretty confident Ivan would be coming to Penrith in 2021," O'Neill told NRL.com.
"Now that he has been released from the Tigers we can finalise what we need to in the coming days and we're hopeful that things will escalate and he will be here on November 1 for the start of preseason."
O'Neill denied that the Panthers came to a financial agreement with their NRL rivals to free up Cleary to move on earlier than they originally anticipated.
"I'm not privy to the conversations that were had between them but I can assure you the Panthers haven't paid any compensation," he said.
