Levi is contracted to Newcastle until the end of 2021 but appears almost certain to depart ahead of schedule, after the club granted him permission to explore other opportunities.

The Knights are understood to have already agreed to terms with Cronulla's Jayden Brailey, which would suggest 23-year-old Levi does not feature in their plans for next season and beyond.

A 2015 debutant, Levi has played in 79 NRL games for the Knights and in four Tests for New Zealand at the 2017 World Cup.

Speculation about his future at the Knights has been recurring for 12 months, but he has responded to the uncertainty by producing the best form of his career.

"I haven't really worried about it, to be honest," he told the Newcastle Herald.

"I feel like if I start worrying about that sort of stuff, it's going to affect my game.

"I can't control what the club decides. I've just got to focus on playing really good footy, and just say it is my last year here, I want to go out in a good way.

"If it is, I'd love to win a grand final. But who knows? As long as I'm still contracted here, I'm really loyal to the Knights.

"I love this group of boys, I love the club and the town. Obviously I'd love to stay but I can't control what happens in the future."

Levi said it was "the nature of the business" that sometimes players do not see out their contracts, for whatever reason.

"Obviously there has been a lot of talk about it, but I've come to terms with the situation," he said.

"I'd love to stay, but if I can't, that's just how it goes. As long as I'm here, I'm doing my best for this club."

If Levi is unable to find a suitable alternative for next season, he said he would have no qualms about staying with the Knights and fighting for a first-grade position.

"I'm never shy of competition," he said.

"So if I am still here, it'll be up to me to prove I'm the top hooker at the club. I'd definitely be ready for a battle."

Returning from ankle surgery in Saturday's 24-20 loss to the Warriors, Levi played 80 minutes and produced a team-high 44 tackles, as well as 57 attacking metres.

He said his five weeks on the sidelines "felt like forever", but he never had any concerns about how his match fitness would hold up.

"The doctors told me six weeks, but then I heard Boyd Cordner came back [from similar surgery] in five, so I thought I'd try to do that, too," he said.

"I was always pretty confident about playing 80 minutes.

"It's just whether Browny [coach Nathan Brown] wants to leave me out there for that long.

"I've always been confident I can be an 80-minute hooker, but we've got a lot of quality players on the bench and we've got to get them into the game somehow."

Levi felt the Knights should have beaten the Warriors, even with seven of their front-line players unavailable.

"You can't make that many errors and expect to win in the NRL," he said. "It was good in terms of the amount of effort we put in, but it still wasn't up to standard. We need to be better."

On Friday Newcastle will be aiming to bounce back when they host cellar dwellers Canterbury.

"We definitely can't take them lightly," Levi said.

"We had a really close game with them last time, and Kalyn Ponga got us out of trouble with a late try.

"Plus they beat the Sharks in their last game, so it's definitely going to be a challenge for us."