COLLINGWOOD forward Chris Dawes has attracted the interest of three or four rival clubs after deciding to look at opportunities elsewhere.
The 24-year-old premiership player has asked his manager Ben Niall to look at securing a potential trade in the wake of the Pies' recruitment of West Coast forward Quinten Lynch.
Lynch, who became a Pie on Tuesday via Gillette AFL Free Agency period, is capable of playing the forward/back up ruck role Dawes struggled with this season following the retirement of Leigh Brown.
His manager said the Pies were happy for him to explore his options.
"The club is aware of the opportunity for Chris outside the footy club," Niall told AFL.com.au's Trade Radio.
"It's normal for him and expected for him to at least explore his options, so they're happy for him to do so.
"We're expecting to hear some pretty positive stories around building things around him rather than him being more peripheral."
Niall said "more than two and less than five" clubs had shown interest in Dawes.
Uncertainty over his role next season has led to his preparedness to move.
The main question is whether the Pies will play Travis Cloke, Lynch and Dawes together.
Niall said Dawes had taken half of what he could have earned elsewhere when he signed an extension in October last year, and the length of the contract had been shorter than he could have commanded at another club.
He said there had already been interest from rival clubs, but Dawes had yet to meet with any.
"He's certainly a very important player for the modern style of footy," he said.
"He's a very good role model and sets high standards in training, and for clubs that are trying to build something that have that missing in the 23-24 age bracket, he's a pretty good fit."
Dawes has been reported to be uninterested in moving away from Melbourne, where he is studying law.
Niall said any move wouldn't be relationship based, but links to coaches such as ex-Collingwood assistants Mark Neeld (Melbourne) and Scott Watters (St Kilda) could give him confidence.
Melbourne confirmed its interest in Dawes on Tuesday.
Niall said Dawes was disappointed with the Pies' chosen direction but was realistic about the brutal nature of the industry.
Anyone in Dawes' position "would vulnerable and maybe a little bit angry".
"They're all the normal emotions you would expect Chris has had, but also he is realistic about the business," Niall said.
"While he's had his moments, he's got a pretty good sense of where it's all at and a pretty good perspective on it."
It is not cettain that Dawes will leave the Pies, where he has been since he was recruited with selection No.28 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft.
If he stays, the club believes he has the ability to reverse his 2012 form.
"It was a down year for him, but he's only 24 and everyone has some bad years at some stage so we'd like to think with his work rate, like Travis [Cloke], he'll be able to turn that around," football and coaching strategist Rodney Eade told AFL.com.au.
"He was asked to fill that second ruck role, which was foreign to him.
"Obviously his form wasn't as good as 2010 or 2011 up until he broke his knuckle [in round 15].
"I think playing a foreign position may have had a bit of an impact on him.
"His ruck work improved by the end of the year but his main bread and butter is his forward play, so we would like to think that will improve now we've got Lynch."
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Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.
