Carlton co-captain Patrick Cripps and his management are currently working through contract negotiations with the club.
The star midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season, with the West Australian teams obviously keen to lure him home.
Cripps spent the summer back home with his family in WA and was bombarded with questions from locals about his future.
“I reckon over in the West every person I asked is either an Eagles or Dockers recruiter in the supermarkets, but I’m really happy at (Carlton),” Cripps told 7 News on Sunday night.
“You always miss family and friends, this is my eighth year (in Melbourne) now and I’ve built a really good network over here and have a lot of good mates at the club and the club’s basically been a second family to me.”
Cripps dealt with ongoing shoulder issues across 2020 and ultimately had surgery to repair the damage in the aftermath, but is confident he will play in Carlton’s one pre-season game.
“My shoulder’s going really well, I did a lot of rehab over the break back in WA and the pre-season games, I’m hoping to play both of them if they still go ahead and be fit and firing for Round 1, which is exciting,” he said.
The 2019 AFLPA MVP had a self-admitted down year in 2020, where he missed All-Australian selection and is expected to finish outside the top three of Carlton’s best and fairest.
Cripps has attempted to bulk up after slimming down in 2020 to get back into his best rhythm.
“I tried something different last year, I tried to get a bit lighter to help my run,” he said.
“I still had an alright year, but I want to get back to being strong around the contest and I went back into the gym at home.”