DRAGONS boss Bernard Jackman is not giving Ross Moriarty a deadline but believes signing the Wales and Lions forward would “rubber stamp” the strides made at Rodney Parade.

The 23-year-old's Gloucester contract expires at the end of the season and the Dragons are hopeful of snapping up the back rower.

The head coach has got positive feedback from Moriarty, who will be unable to play for Wales if he signs a fresh Cherry and Whites deal or pens a contract with another English or French club, but isn’t rushing the Lions tourist.

“We haven’t got a timeline to be honest and, given the fact it seems to be dragging on, obviously that’s frustrating,” said Jackman, who wouldn’t be drawn on whether a dual contract is on the table.

“But a player has to be completely comfortable with the choice he’s going to make and he’s potentially moving country, moving back from a competition which gave him his breakthrough so I understand it’s a difficult decision to make.

“We’ve put our best sales pitch forward and I don’t have a timeline to be honest. It could drag on for months, that’s the reality. There’s no pressure on him to make a decision so there’s no timeline.”

“I love Ross Moriarty,” he continued. “I think he’s a great player – he’s quality, he’s a great age profile, he’s a British and Irish Lion.

“He’s a similar to a lot of the players we want to build the team around from Gwent and we’re not pretending we’re not interested in him. We want him and, unfortunately, we haven’t signed him [yet].

“We’re just looking forward to it coming to a conclusion and hopefully the signature falls on a page of paper with the Dragons’ logo on it instead of someone else’s.

“But until that happens, that’s all we can say – we like the player, we rate him, we’d love him to be part of what we’re trying to build here. I’m not shying away from that.”

Signing a player of Moriarty’s stature would be a feather in the Dragons’ cap but Jackman believes it wouldn’t be the only yardstick of progress by Welsh rugby’s perennial strugglers.

“I think it would rubber stamp what we feel is evident about how we have changed and the start of continuing to change perceptions about the Dragons, but it’s not the only measure,” he said.

“The fact that Elliot Dee and Leon Brown have broken through into the Welsh camp, Hallam Amos is back in form, Cory Hill is getting consistent game time, Tyler Morgan was picked but got injured and Ollie Griffiths would have been there or thereabouts, so that’s another change.

“Having a really good December and winning five home games would be another measure. Ross is only one part of the jigsaw and if we don’t get Ross we will obviously have to look at what else is out there.

“I think it would be a really good sign, but it won’t be the only sign.”

Jackman said earlier this month that he is eyeing 12 new recruits for next season and the Irishman is ploughing on with other targets while conducting the Moriarty chase.

“There are always a couple of balls in the air and everything is subject to signing, any other offers you might have out there for players is subject to one piece of the jigsaw falling into place,” he said.

“I think Ross would be a huge coup so should we give him more time than we might someone else? Absolutely.

“He hasn’t missed any deadline because there is no deadline being imposed. It’s a case of him being really happy with the decision to come to the Dragons.

“If he goes to another club I will wish him luck because he has been really transparent. It’s important for him to have a move that he is 100 per cent sure about, so the worst thing would be to put a deadline on it.

“It doesn’t affect our other business, this is a rebuild year and there will be a huge amount of recruitment and any one player is only a part of that. Everything is moving on as we would like.”