SPECULATION linking Warrington Wolves half-back Gareth Widdop with a return to St George Illawarra Dragons in a swap deal with Corey Norman has been branded "really unfair."

That is the view of Dragons head coach Paul McGregor after reports emerged Down Under that Widdop has sounded his club out about returning for next season.

> Widdop linked with return to Australia in 'swap deal' with former club

Widdop is in the first season of a three-year marquee deal with The Wire, but the report in the Daily Telegraph claimed he was aiming to return to Australia for personal reasons and a deal was being discussed to take Dragons half-back Norman to The Halliwell Jones Stadium as his replacement for 2021.

When contacted by the Guardian, Wolves said the prospect was news to them – a sentiment echoed by McGregor.

Speculation seemed to emerge after Norman was dropped from the St George squad, but McGregor was quick to pour cold water on the story.

"The first time Norman hasn't been picked in 18 months at the club and we're talking about Gareth coming back already," he told NRL.com.

"That's too unfair at this raw stage to even talk about it. And it hasn't been mentioned to me with the recruitment either.

"I have not been told anything about that and it's just so unfair to the player, in Corey, that's here. We want Corey to play well this year."