Toronto Wolfpack are understood to be closing in on the signing of Kallum Watkins.
The centre is back in the UK and a free agent after leaving NRL club Gold Coast Titans on compassionate grounds after his father contracted the Coronavirus.
Watkins, 29, made just eight NRL appearances after leaving Leeds midway through last year, but he now appears set to reunite with Brian McDermott with the Wolfpack.
It’s understood that Toronto would be able to afford the deal on their salary cap as a result of the wage cuts set to be rolled out across Super League. While cuts are being introduced, there has been no change to the £2.1m salary cap. With Toronto’s outgoings now set to be reduced, it means they will be able to fit Watkins under the cap.
That said, it remains to be seen whether the RFL will approve the deal, though it appears unlikely they will block it, given that to do so could be seen as a restriction of trade.
A six-time Super League champion, a World Cup Finalist and capped 25 times by England, Watkins will add experience and flair to Toronto’s ranks.
While his form suffered in 2019 as he returned from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury, there are hopes that he can recapture the form that saw him regarded as one of the world’s best centres.
