GWS football boss Jason McCartney says contract talks with Tim Taranto will take time due to the club not having a senior coach.
According to Sportsday’s Sam McClure, four Victorian clubs – Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon and Geelong – have all shown interest in the 24-year-old midfielder.
Taranto’s two-year deal with the Giants is up at season’s end.
GWS wants to retain the 2019 Kevin Sheedy Medallist as he weighs up his future beyond this year.
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“We’re in constant dialogue with Tim and his management. Matt Bain, his manager, is up here in Sydney now, which is great,” McCartney told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“That’ll take some time to be honest when there’s not a coach in place.
“Tim is really invested in our club and loves living in Sydney, but he’s got the right – he’s out of contract, he’s assessing his options.
“We’ll continue to work with both parties and hopefully we get the right outcome at the end of the season.
“The priority is to keep Tim, but we’re not immune to this, we do deal with this a lot.”
Jacob Hopper is another Giants player that’s come up in trade discussions.
The Age understands the Cats, Tigers and Adelaide are all circling the 25-year-old on-baller.
Hopper signed a two-year extension last September, meaning he is contracted for 2023.
“Jacob’s name does get mentioned most years for whatever reason, whether he’s in and out of contract,” McCartney said.
“Jacob’s one of those classic examples, a bit like Tim at the moment, he was out of contract all of last year … Jacob didn’t re-sign until post-season.
“He’s got next year to run on that contract, then he becomes a free agent.”
Hopper finished third in GWS’ best and fairest last year.