Penrith may be bolstered by two major forward signings with Test prop James Tamou reportedly set to join the NRL club in 2017 and Chris Grevsmuhl making an early exit from Souths.
News Corp reported that North Queensland's Tamou wants to return to Sydney for family reasons and that the Panthers are high on his list.
"James has told me to instruct the club that Sydney is his preference for his family," his manager Sam Ayoub told News Corp.
"I as much as anyone would love to see James continue his career at the Cowboys but at the end of the day, sometimes family dictates these situations."
Ayoub said that there were formal talks about Tamou with the Panthers on Tuesday.
