‘It sounds like a pretty good deal to me’: Ivan Cleary confident Penrith can sort out a new deal with Jarome Luai soon

Rival clubs are counting down the days until they can negotiate with Jarome Luai, but Panthers coach Ivan Cleary is confident it won’t get to that stage.

The Panthers remain confident that they can convince Jarome Luai to stay. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary insists there’s “not much happening” in Penrith’s bid to re-sign Jarome Luai, but he remains very confident that they can sort something out before the playmaker becomes a free agent on November 1.

Luai’s future has been one of the biggest talking points at the foot of the mountains with rival clubs able to negotiate with him if a new deal isn’t struck before the October 31 deadline.

The premiership-winning five-eighth still has another year to run on his contract but a split with his management group sparked a 90-day non-compete clause that would have made it difficult for the Panthers to work on a new deal.

It has since emerged that the clause can be waived if the Panthers deal directly with Luai and his family, and Cleary is confident the club can offer him a highly competitive deal to convince him to stay.

The Panthers are confident they can offer competitive deals to keep stars Dylan Edwards and Jarome Luai. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“I just feel like we can offer Jarome not just a financially good offer but something that works for him as well as for his family, where he’s from, the way we play and his role in that,” he said.

“It sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

“I feel like Jarome belongs here. I feel we’re good for him and he’s good for us. We’ve just got to go to work on getting that done.

“I’d rather it sooner than later, but it’s also a big thing in his career and he’s got to make sure that he’s happy with it and us the same.

“I’m honestly not that worried about it. I’m very confident.”

Rival clubs could offer Luai in excess of $1m to lure him away from Penrith with an offer for him to be the chief playmaker after he helped guide Samoa to the World Cup final last year.

The five-eighth has been in terrific form this season, and while some people have questioned his fiery nature on the field, his coach says that emotion is one of the things that makes him so special.

Luai will be the hottest player on the market if the Panthers can’t sort out a new deal soon. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“Jarome is an outstanding player. He’s got a bit of an X-factor about him with the way he plays,” Cleary said.

“The biggest thing he does for our team is he connects other people and other players and brings a certain energy that’s unique and authentic. He loves his mates and playing footy, and it really works well with our group.

“That’s part of building a team because they can’t all be the same. Nathan and Jarome, you couldn’t get two more different guys, but they work in harmony and are really good together.”

Luai didn’t play last week but could be one of several Panthers stars to return against the Titans. Picture: NRL Photos

Luai (illness) missed last week’s win over Manly but is a good chance of returning this week, while Cleary has also given the green light for Mitch Kenny to face the Titans.

Spencer Leniu is also looking good, while Izack Tago remains in doubt.

“He looks better. It’s the first time I’ve seen him for a week or so,” Cleary replied when asked about Luai’s health.

“He’s recovering still, so we’ll monitor him throughout the week.

“I don’t know (if he’ll play this week). He was pretty sick last week but he’s on the mend.”