Warrington Wolves chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick has said he fully expects key prop Paul Vaughan to be at the club next season despite interest from the NRL.
Vaughan has been heavily linked with a move to Parramatta Eels amid reports the NRL outfit have asked the Wire to release him from the final year of his contract.
But Fitzpatrick, while aware of the speculation, said there had been no contact from Parramatta about Vaughan or any suggestion from his agent that the player wants to leave.
The 33-year-old joined Warrington from Canterbury Bulldogs at the start of the 2023 campaign and has proved a big hit at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Fitzpatrick told Love Rugby League: “I heard some talk a few weeks ago that Parramatta were interested in Vaughan, but they have not approached us and his agent has not been in touch either.
“Paul is a very important player for Warrington Wolves and has 12 months left on his contract so, as things stand, he’s coming back here to play for us in 2025.”
The Wolves’ squad for next season is all but complete with Oli Leyland, Dan Russell and Alfie Johnson bolstering their ranks.
There have been some notable departures with Josh Drinkwater and Matty Nicholson leaving and John Bateman returning to Wests Tigers following the end of his loan spell.
Fitzpatrick added: “We’ve got a little bit of salary cap space left, not a lot, but we’ll keep our power dry and if something pops up then we can look to do something.
“We have no quota spots left as things stand, although that could obviously change if someone left to free up a quota spot and cap space. However, I don’t envisage that happening.”