Penrith Panthers legend and board member Greg Alexander has stated that the club would welcome back Matt Burton if he chose to rejoin.
The 21-year-old won Dally M centre of the year and a premiership with Penrith in 2021 last season before taking up a three-year deal at Canterbury Bulldogs to play at halfback.
However, Alexander revealed that the Panthers would take Burton back if he was willing to play centre.
“Of course they would (have him back),” Alexander said on SEN radio.
“Yeah, of course it would be, he’s a great player to play centre.
“He’d never played centre before, never had he played centre before. He had to learn had to run into space and learn how to perform what he was normally doing one play inside.
“He became the best hole-hitting centre in the game, he would change directions while the ball was coming to him to put himself into space.
“I don’t think anyone realised exactly how fast Matt Burton was last year until he scored a couple of 70 metre tries.
“We’d have him back in a heartbeat.”
Burton has scored 20 tries in 32 NRL games to date since his debut in 2019, 17 of which came in a breakout season for the Panthers in 2021.
Burton will debut for the Bulldogs against the Cowboys in Sunday’s round one clash in Townsville.
