Wests Tigers have confirmed Kevin Naiqama will leave the club at the end of the 2018 season.

Naiqama will depart the Tigers to take up a multi-year deal in the English Super League.

Although unconfirmed, Naiqama is believed to have signed with St Helens.

The Fijian international was off-contract at the end of 2018.

Naiqama joined the Tigers for the 2015 season after playing just 23 games across five seasons at stints with Newcastle and Penrith.

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Naiqama has played 79 of his 102 NRL games for the Tigers.

Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe paid tribute to the departing centre.

"Kevin has been a key part of our team since the day he joined Wests Tigers and I thank him for everything he has done both on and off the field," Pascoe said in a club statement.

"This new multi-year deal is a great opportunity for Kevin to extend his playing career, and we wish him the best of luck in the English Super League."

OFFICIAL — Wests Tigers have today confirmed that @KevinNaiqama will depart the club at the end of the season.



📝 Details ≫ https://t.co/rHYHarxiWB pic.twitter.com/U0PdrwZHFE — Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) May 22, 2018





Speculation over Naiqama's future arose after the 29-year-old was ruled out of the Tigers' round 10 side that defeated North Queensland 20-12 at Leichhardt Oval.

Naiqama wasn’t injured - but Tigers coach Ivan Cleary refused to elaborate on the reasons behind his non-selection.

"I don’t really want to discuss selections. We basically picked a team and there were circumstances involved but we’d rather keep that in-house," Cleary said after the game.

Last week, the mystery surrounding his axing appeared to have been solved amid reports Naiqama had signed with St Helens, fuelling whispers around Ben Barba’s possible NRL return.

"I’m not sure if it’s a mid-year or end-of-season deal to be honest but what makes it interesting is Ben Barba because there’s lots of rumours around about Ben Barba and whether he’s coming home," News Limited journalist and Sporting News Australia contributor Brent Read saidlast week.

"If Kevin Naiqama goes to St Helens there could be implications there for Ben Barba – maybe Naiqama is a replacement for Ben Barba."