ESSENDON CEO Xavier Campbell will meet with Michael Hurley's management later this week as speculation about the key defender's future heats up.
Hurley remains contracted with Essendon until the end of 2017, however, he is yet to deliver a commitment to the Bombers that he will return next season.
The 25-year-old is understood to be in no rush to declare his intention, and while the Bombers remain in the box seat to retain him, he is keeping his options open as he works his way towards a final decision while serving his season-long suspension.
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Campbell confirmed on SEN radio on Tuesday afternoon the meeting would take place this week and said the club was comfortable with the situation.
"I'd like to think we'll have those discussions and I feel quietly confident we'll get to the position we need to get to, but this has been a complicated issue and it is not something we have wanted to rush or will rush at all," Campbell said.
Several Victorian AFL clubs contacted by AFL.com.au on Tuesday believe Hurley will not leave Essendon to join another Victorian club.
Although he remains an attractive prospect for opposition sides, sources at clubs such as Richmond and Melbourne say they have made no offer to Hurley.
Sydney Swans football manager Tom Harley told K-Rock radio on the weekend that Hurley was not on the Swans' radar, but reports in April suggested Adelaide was interested in the banned Bomber.
Campbell said it was hypothetical to speculate on what might happen if Hurley asked to be traded, with different viewpoints on whether he would have any right to declare himself a delisted free agent due to a fundamental breach of his contract.
Campbell repeated the Bombers consistent line that they wanted each player to come to their own decision as to whether they wanted to return to the club.
"The fans love Michael, and his teammates love him and we love him at the football club. He's a big part of our future and a really important part of our list management strategy," Campbell said.
"The reality is you want players that want to play for Essendon. That is why we are not rushing any particular player. We feel confident and we are going to fight hard to retain the players, but we are going to do it appropriately and with a reasoned voice as well."
Any potential trade involving Hurley would require high draft picks given his standing in the game after 119 games and aged 26 at the start of next season.
The All Australian centre half-back had a brilliant 2015 but needed shoulder surgery at the end of the season.
Hurley was undergoing rehabilitation when the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down its penalty to 34 past and present Essendon players.
Five of the suspended 12 players on the Bombers' list have already committed to play in 2017 with Cale Hooker, David Myers, Travis Colyer and Heath Hocking re-signing with the Bombers, while Dyson Heppell has pledged to fulfil his contract.
Hurley, Jobe Watson, Tom Bellchambers, Michael Hibberd, Ben Howlett, Tayte Pears and Brent Stanton have not declared their intentions in 2017.
