Ivan Cleary has reportedly agreed terms with his former NRL club Penrith and will join the Panthers as coach from 2021.
News Corp Australia reported the current Wests Tigers coach has signed a three-year deal with the Panthers.
Speculation is sure to mount that Cleary will look to get out of his current deal with the Tigers earlier, perhaps even before the 2019 season.
Last week the Panthers announced that Ivan’s son Nathan Cleary had re-signed with the club on a new five-year deal.
Ivan Cleary had been cut by Panthers boss Phil Gould in 2015 who claimed he wasn’t the man to take the club forward.
He subsequently joined Wests Tigers as coach in 2017.
But things took a turn this year when Ivan Cleary became linked to a return to the Panthers.
That only escalated when Panthers coach Anthony Griffin was sacked and it became known that Cleary was being targeted to return.
If the move occurs sooner than expected it could start a chain of coaching changes in the NRL with Cameron Ciraldo (Panthers) out of a job, Wayne Bennett (Brisbane) unwanted beyond 2019 and Trent Barrett seeking to leave Manly.
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