THE Dragons are set to land one of the most significant signing coups of the off-season with Parramatta playmaker Corey Norman expected to sign a three-year deal in the Red V within the next 48 hours.

The move will strengthen the St George Illawarra roster immensely with the Red V set to have Ben Hunt, Gareth Widdop and Norman all sharing playmaking responsibilities.

Norman, 27, is expected to play fullback or five-eighth, which will throw up questions about current Dragons no.1 Matt Dufty.

Eels powerbrokers held a recruitment meeting on Tuesday where the future of Norman was top of the agenda.

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur and recruitment manager Peter Sharp are both big Norman supporters and are happy to see the playmaker get the chance to reignite his career at the Dragons.

The Dragons will sign Norman on a three-year deal, which will provide them with well-balanced playmaking depth if captain Gareth Widdop opts to return to the UK Super League in 2020.

Widdop has guaranteed he will be at the Dragons next season but may decide to return home to England beyond that.

Norman’s agent Paul Sutton is currently overseas but has been working overtime to ensure the deal gets done.

Sutton also looks after Dragons captain Widdop. The Dragons had previously made a play for Jarryd Hayne but went cold.

Norman joined the Eels in 2014 and helped steer the club into the 2017 finals before Parramatta flopped last season.

The talented playmaker had a series of run-ins with management at the Eels and was given a breach notice for drinking while injured in August.

If a deal fails to be reached by the weekend then it may take until early January before Norman officially becomes a Dragon.

The Eels are playing hard ball around the fine print terms of Norman’s release with the sticking point believed to be about $75,000.

Irrespective, Norman will be a Dragon next season. All that remains is the negotiating process around when he will officially appear at the Dragons Wollongong headquarters.

If the Dragons can get Norman right, there is no questioning his talent.