Zach Merrett appears set to stay at Essendon, despite reports of his frustration with the club and its current position.
Out of contract next year, the star midfielder now looms as one of the bigger names on the market in 2021.
Former Essendon captain and teammate of Merrett’s in Brendon Goddard believes the 25-year-old won’t sign a long-term contract until he is confident in the direction of the club.
“I won’t go into too much detail with respect for Zach, but he’s got his concerns,” Goddard told AFL Trade Radio.
“We’re not naïve here, we can all see it that he needs to improve in certain areas and he thinks he’s identified the areas where it needs to improve and get better and he’s a really diligent guy who thinks deeply not only about his own game, but about the club and about success.
“If I’m in his shoes, and I haven’t talked to him about this particular instance, if the club were to put a deal in front of him, there’s no rush to sign it.
“From his point of view, he’s in a position where he’s a really important player and will be for the next 10 years.
“He’s in a position as a potential future captain where he’s said ‘personally, selfishly, I need to see these areas improved and for us to be on the right path and for there to be some confidence that we’re on the right track’.
“He’ll do his part, his own backyard will be clean I guarantee you that, ‘and if I start to see those things I’ll commit to the club’.
“There’s no reason for him as a player to rush into a five-year deal if you’ve got concerns.”
Goddard admitted that if he was in Merrett’s position at Essendon right now, he also wouldn’t be committing on a long-term deal.
“I wouldn’t be (signing). Not with the concerns he has and if any other player has major concerns with the direction they’re heading in, I don’t think it’s really clear at the minute unless they’ve discussed that with him in the last few weeks, but I don’t think that they have,” he said.
“He needs to be filled with confidence that this is the right place for him, particularly on such a long deal. It’s a big commitment from a player to sign that.
“Selfishly from a player point of view … as you get older you understand loyalty is a two-way street … as you get older it becomes a busines and life decision and the club will be the first to cut you off at the knees as Adam Treloar is going through at the minute.
“He’s got his concerns and from all Essendon people, us included, we need to see improvement.”