Alex Keath is no guarantee to remain in Adelaide for next season, with the Western Bulldogs keen on acquiring the defender, according to Tom Rehn.
The 27-year-old is having a career-best year that has seen him in All-Australian discussions, but Adelaide have limited room under the cap with which to re-sign players.
“I think he is gettable,” Rehn said on SEN Drive.
“I think he’d love to stay; the Crows have clearly taken a bit of a punt on him and he’s having a breakout season.
“That said, he is out of contract at the end of the year.
“The issue they’ve got I think is they’ve got a lot of players that are under big contracts and still got time to run. Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Daniel Talia, Tom Lynch, Rory Sloane who they only re-signed recently.
“It’s big money that is going to some significant players, so there’s not a hell of a lot of wiggle room.”
The other issue facing the Crows is the return of Tom Doedee from an ACL injury and whether that would impact Keath’s place in the side.
“The other thing that Crows have got is Tom Doedee coming back, so I’m not saying they’re prepared to let him (Keath) go, but it’s gone this long now you begin to worry," Rehn added.
“My understanding is that the Western Bulldogs are very, very interested in Alex Keath and what his movements are for next season.”
The Bulldogs are in need of a key defender due to Marcus Adams’ move to Brisbane, Dale Morris missing time with injury and Aaron Naughton moving forward permanently.
Drive host Terry Wallace said that Keath is exactly what the Bulldogs need.
“They just need another tall defender at that end of the ground,” the former Bulldogs coach said.
“I think he’d be absolutely perfect for them.”
Keath has played 29 games for the Crows since joining the club in 2016.