Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis believes Essendon’s tumultuous end to the season makes them an unattractive club for potential trade targets.
The Bombers have been linked to a number of big-bodied midfielders including Adelaide’s Brad Crouch, Richmond’s Jack Graham and Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines.
Lewis, looking through the lens of a player weighing up a move, believes the poor form and coaching struggles coupled with Adam Saad reportedly being unsure whether to re-sign, would worry him.
“It’s been a difficult year for Essendon on the performance front, but also if you want to get players in, I think any player that is potentially looking for another club wants to see a vision,” Lewis told SEN Breakfast.
“So right now you probably look at Essendon and you don’t know where they’re going because one, their performance hasn’t been good enough, but also the players that are there that are out of contract that you think would sign haven’t signed yet.
“So if I’m a player at a different club, I’m going ‘Adam Saad hasn’t signed at Essendon, there is a deal on the table, why isn’t he signing?’.
“’Is (Saad) going to be there? There’s a lot of uncertainty. I might have to look elsewhere and for a club that is more stable’.”
The out of contract Saad would make for an appealing trade target for numerous teams, with North Melbourne a side already expressing interest in him.
Essendon takes on Melbourne on Saturday afternoon and would eliminate the Demons from the finals race with a win.