Essendon are open to hearing "adequate" offers for veteran Jake Stringer and their top pick as the Bombers continue to work through the trade period.
Stringer has garnered interest from GWS as he looks to secure a multi-year deal, having triggered a one-year extension with Essendon during the 2024 campaign.
The Giants and Bombers held talks over the weekend in regards to a potential deal that would see Stringer head north, with Essendon expected to secure draft capital from GWS, who hold Picks 15, 16, 21, 37, 53, 56 and 74 for this year's draft.
9Newsย chief reporter Tom Morris says the Giants are not willing to offer up anything better than pick 53 for Stringer, while separate reports suggest the Bombers would be willing to pay some of Stringer's wage in exchange for a higher pick.
Stringer is yet to formally request a trade to GWS as he explores a potential Essendon departure.
"The Giants have shown some interest," Essendon list manager Matt Rosa told Trade Radioย on Thursday.
"No official request, we're keeping in constant contact with Jake's management group. We'll work through that one as it plays out.
"Jake is locked into a one-year deal, we've had discussions around the tenure aspect. Jake, as you can understand, is looking for security at the age he is at.
"The fact that Jake's a contracted player, it'd need to be adequate compensation (to trade him)."
The Bombers have also fielded interest for their opening selection for the 2024 AFL Draft in Pick 9, with other clubs having shown some level of intrigue in the early selection. Essendon are open to either advancing or moving back in the draft order as they look to avoid an untimely bid for Next Generation Academy talent Isaac Kako, which could come between selections 5-15.
Moving up the draft board would see the Bombers get access to another top prospect before securing Kako, while moving back is more likely and would be a safer option that could allow Rosa to move back into the first round following a matched bid for Kako.
The Bombers list boss said the club is listening to rival offers for Pick 9 as the club weighs up how to approach the first round of this year's talent intake.
"We have had some offers and interest in Pick 9, whether it be for us to move back and move into the future," Rosa said.
"We've got to listen to all opportunities. It would need to be quite a special offer to give up Pick 9 at this stage."
Rosa, who is expecting to have Dylan Shiel and Jayden Laverde at Tullamarine in 2025, is also anticipating the Bombers to use three or four draft picks at the national intake in November and carry a "younger" list into next season.
Essendon will assess the number of list spots they have free in the wake of the trade and draft periods before weighing up a potential move for Brisbane defender Jaxon Prior, who remains without a deal at the Lions.
Prior, should he not be offered an extension, could be recruited as a delisted free agent as early as next month, or could be available as a train-on talent through the Supplemental Selection Period over summer.
Delisted Essendon defender Kaine Baldwin is another who is in the mix for a training stint across pre-season to potentially fight for a list vacancy at the Bombers should they have the accommodating list spots open following the draft.
Current off-contract trio Sam Weideman, Will Setterfield and Jayden Davey have also been told to wait until the Bombers have a clear picture on their 2025 list structure before a call is made on their futures.
"Unfortunately those boys are on hold at the moment," Rosa added.
"We just need a bit more time to see what list spots we have available."
The trade period concludes next Wednesday at 7:30pm (ADST).
