Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver is reportedly feeling “unloved” at the Demons, as a rival club prepares to pounce with a trade offer.
Oliver struggled on and off field for the Demons in 2024, with his professionalism under scrutiny.
But now Geelong has emerged as the frontrunner to lure the midfielder away.
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“Twelve months almost to the day that he emerged as a trade target, Clayton Oliver is once again gettable, attainable from rival clubs,” Nine’s Sam McClure revealed on Wide World of Sports radio on Monday.
And exactly why the 27-year-old premiership star may want out is pretty straight forward.
“Clayton Oliver has felt during the year and increasingly so in the last couple of weeks … that he is undervalued and in some way, unwanted at Melbourne next year,” McClure said.
“It’s had him questioning whether he will be back at the club for pre-season at the end of this year.”
Oliver’s troubled pre-season, which hindered the start of his 2024 campaign, saw him reportedly fall out with the club’s key stakeholders and some teammates.
The 2021 premiership midfielder was in the spotlight for multiple reasons, including his early exit from the club’s training camp at the end of 2023, following intense trade speculation as well as a brief hospital visit
The trade speculation has left Essendon great Matthew Lloyd calling for the Demons to use Oliver to free up room for future selections.
“I think they would be well and truly open to trading Oliver out,” Lloyd said.
Oliver still has six years left on his mega deal.
He missed the final few weeks of the 2024 season, after playing for the second half of the year with a broken hand.
But Geelong won’t get the star onballer that easily.
The Cats’ chances of landing Oliver could become more complicated as they also loom as the home for Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith.
The AFL trade period begins on Monday.