Reports that the Newcastle Knights could send star English winger to the Sydney Roosters immediately have been all but shut down by director of football Peter Parr.
Young told teammates at the Knights - and other clubs chasing him, believed to be the Dolphins and Gold Coast Titans - that he wouldn't be signing for them earlier this week.
The Sydney Roosters are yet to officially confirm his signing, but it's believed the winger will ink a four-year deal to make the move to Bondi in a switch that will continue to strengthen a Roosters' back five which already features James Tedesco, Joseph Sua'ali'i, Daniel Tupou and Joseph Manu.
Both Tupou and Sua'ali'i are free to explore their options for 2024 though and could ultimately make the move away from Bondi following the acquisition of Young, who is believed to have signed a contract of around $500,000 per season.
Reports on Wednesday evening suggested Young could ultimately find himself shipped to the Knights early, with the Roosters making inquiries.
News Corp reported that the Knights inquired about the availability of either Nat or Egan Butcher, but the Roosters rejected the premise of either player switching to the Hunter.
That has now been replaced by the possible idea of a transfer fee, although Young is reportedly committed to playing out the final year of his Knights' contract.
While no such move for an immediate shift is over the line yet, Knights' director of football Peter Parr told The Newcastle Herald's Toohey's News podcast that while it's not completely ruled out, it was unlikely that any move for Young would occur so close to the 2023 season kicking off.
"I've just about ruled it out, but haven't completely ruled it out. You never say never, but it would have to be something that is beneficial to us, and if that eventuated it could be a silver lining," Parr said.
"The flipside of that is that we have planned for Dom to be in our team, planned for him to be on the right wing and it's very difficult for us to change those plans so close to the season starting.
"I wouldn't say that we have ruled it out completely, but nor would I say that it will happen."
The Knights, who were believed to be financially in the ballpark for Young, are understandably disappointed to lose the star winger, who has scored 19 tries in 27 games for the Knights since his 2021 debut.
The 21-year-old had previously played two games for the Huddersfield Giants before making the switch to Australia, and standing at 200 centimetres, is the competition's tallest player.
"[We are] disappointed that he has decided to leave. All that we know is that he has told us he won't be here next year. Our assumption is that he is going to the Roosters," Parr said.
"Whether it's the Roosters or anybody else, it's disappointing that he has decided to leave here. We wanted to keep him, and we did all that we could within our means to keep him at the club. I was relatively confident from a personal point of view that he was going to stay."
The Knights open their season with a trip to Wellington where they will meet the New Zealand Warriors, while the Roosters kick-start their campaign against the Dolphins in Brisbane.
