A two-player trade involving up to four clubs could come to fruition as early as Monday as St Kilda defender Nick Coffield looks to land at the Western Bulldogs while the Saints plan to add Carlton midfielder Paddy Dow to their list.
Close to 15 players are still looking to move clubs just under 60 hours out from the trade period deadline, with the Saints among the clubs with the most to do before Wednesday evening.
List manager Stephen Silvagni will be looking to settle deals with the Dogs, Blues and Dockers to finalise his club's off-season plans, with Dow and Fremantle's Liam Henry both expected to make the move to Moorabbin in the coming days.
The Saints' trade capital was boosted on Friday afternoon with the loss of free agent Jade Gresham, whose move to Essendon pocketed the Saints first-round compensation in the form of Pick 21.
That selection could help unlock a deal for Henry, however it's likely the sale of Coffield to the Western Bulldogs might be made first to help the Saints have more draft selections to work with before furthering talks with Fremantle.
According toย 7 Newsย reporter Mitch Cleary, a deal that sees Coffield head to the Kennel and Dow land with the Saints is in the works, with a fourth party potentially involved to help broker the deal.
Expecting Paddy Dow and Nick Coffield to be involved in a three or four-club trade. Likely to go down in next 24 hours. https://t.co/QaHs39BYWm
— Mitch Cleary (@cleary_mitch) October 15, 2023
The outline of the trade would see the Blues swap Dow to the Saints, who move Coffield to the Dogs and then a range of draft selections swap hands to please all parties.
SEN'sย Tom Morris has named Essendon as the fourth club that could be involved to help get the deal over the line as part of the pick-swapping phase of the transaction.
Picks 40 (from the Bulldogs) and 56 (from St Kilda) have also been floated as assets in the trade talks, with each of the Blues, Dogs and Saints showing what they either are or aren't keen to include.
Carlton: Wants more than a future fourth for Paddy Dow.
St Kilda: Won't part with Pick 56 for Dow + wants Pick 40 from the Dogs for Nick Coffield.
Dogs: Want something back if they are going to part with Pick 40 for Coffield.
Essendon: Involved to help swap draft picks andโฆ— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) October 15, 2023
It's unlikely Dow will cost the Saints a high price, with Silvagni likely to attain a draft selection along with the midfielder for the loss of Coffield in the trade.
A package of picks could then be used to bring Henry east, with the Saints expected to be unwanting to part with their opening two selections for this year's count - priced at Picks 13 and 21.
Coffield is likely the only incoming player left on the Dogs' hitlist following their acquisition of Demon James Harmes last week, while the Whitten Oval club will be working with Port Adelaide to finalise a deal for Jordon Sweet to head to South Australia.
The proposed four-club trade could also unlock Carlton's plans of attaining Gold Coast midfielder Elijah Hollands, with an additional draft selection potentially speeding up their pursuit of the contracted wingman.
The 2023 trade period will close at 7:30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.
