Parramatta five-eighth Corey Norman is expected to sign with the Dragons in the next 48 hours, which will bring about swift change at both clubs.

The biggest question mark is over the Dragons, who will have three playmakers on their books for at least the 2019 season, joining star halves Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop.

Norman, who had a year to forget at the Eels in 2018, is a multiskilled player who can move into fullback for the Dragons, where he has played 32 NRL games.

Star five-eighth Widdop has previously expressed a desire to return to England, although the skipper is not expected to leave the Dragons before the end of the 2019 season.

The recruitment of Norman, 27, on a three-year-deal, is a smart move for the Dragons should Widdop decide to return home to the English Super League in 2020.

However, it leaves young fullback Matt Dufty in the lurch. Dufty has played 33 games for the club at fullback, but could be moved to the wing to make way for the more experienced Norman. Or, he could be left out of the team altogether.

There is a position on the wing left by Nene Macdonald, who has been released to the Cowboys, as well as club legend Jason Nightingale who retired at the end of the season.

The addition of Norman adds much needed depth to the Dragons backs, with Dufty, rising centre Zac Lomax and fellow 2018 debutant Jordan Pereira to fight for the two positions.

The Dragons have a huge opinion of Lomax, who has been touted as a future State of Origin star, but he could be forced to play reserve grade if Dufty or Pereira snatches a wing spot.

For the Eels, the transfer frees up some much-needed salary cap space to take to market.

Norman was reportedly earning around $900,000 per season with Parramatta, and although the Dragons are unlikely to have picked up the total cost of his contract for 2019, it gives the Eels some space in their cap.

The Eels were believed to have been shopping around big-money stars Norman and centre Michael Jennings in order to find money to re-sign Jarryd Hayne. However, the two-time Dally M Medal winner is now facing serious sexual assault charges and is unlikely to get another NRL contract.

Moving Norman on also solves a backline puzzle the Eels would have been facing in 2019, allowing Bevan French to return to fullback and Clint Gutherson to move into the halves.

Wingers Blake Ferguson and George Jennings will take their spots next to centres Josh Hoffman and Jennings, who is now likely to remain at the club to see out the end of his contract.

Potential 2019 line-ups:

Eels
1 Bevan French

2 Blake Ferguson

3 Michael Jennings

4 Josh Hoffman

5 George Jennings

6 Clint Gutherson

7 Mitchell Moses

8 Junior Paulo

9 Kaysa Pritchard

10 Daniel Alvaro

11 Manu Ma’u

12 Tepai Moeroa

13 Nathan Brown

14 Shaun Lane

15 Ray Stone

16 Tim Mannah

17 Brad Takairangi

Dragons
1 Corey Norman

2 Matt Dufty

3 Euan Aitken

4 Tim Lafai

5 Jordan Pereira

6 Gareth Widdop

7 Ben Hunt

8 James Graham

9 Cameron McInnes

10 Paul Vaughan

11 Tyson Frizell

12 Tariq Sims

13 Jack de Belin

14 Korbin Sims

15 Blake Lawrie

16 Jacob Host

17 Luciano Leilua