Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey remains unsigned for next season and beyond.
The restricted free agent is one of the hottest names on the market and is currently weighing up whether to stay at Collingwood or sign with a rival club like St Kilda.
According to reports, De Goey has a five-year contract in front of him at Collingwood with the only sticking point in inking the deal being behavioural clauses involved.
While he expects the star to remain in black and white, AFL Media’s Riley Beveridge believes the longer De Goey delays the decision to more likely he is to depart the club.
“It’s still up in the air,” Beveridge said on AFL Trade Radio’s The Early Trade.
“If it gets to the week after the season and he still hasn’t re-signed, it’s obviously going to be up in the air.
“St Kilda’s watching with great interest as they have throughout the entire season and they need and they’ve long been after that A-grade player that can burst out of stoppage in the midfield, go forward and kick goals for them.
“He’s certainly an option for them, and as we reported on AFL.com.au last week, Cal Twomey reported that Collingwood offered a five-year deal with behavioural clauses in there so he’s just weighing that up at the moment.
“With these ones, the longer they drag on the more uncertainty there tends to be.”
With Lance Franklin inking an extension with Sydney last week, De Goey is one of two restricted free agents still unsigned along with Brisbane’s Darcy Gardiner.
Given his free agency status, Collingwood possesses the ability to match any deal that he accepts with a rival club.
“He’s one of only two restricted agents that are still unsigned at the end of the season,” Beveridge said.
“Collingwood has the option with restricted free agency of matching any rival offer that comes in for him.”
The 26-year-old averaged 20.8 disposals, 5.1 clearances and 0.9 goals a game in 2022.