SYDNEY football boss Tom Harley has "categorically" ruled out his club recruiting Gold Coast captain Steven May.
Speaking on Friday, Harley said the Swans would not turn their attention to the key defender despite admitting the club’s pursuit of Collingwood swingman Darcy Moore looks to be over.
NAB AFL TRADE HUB Latest news, videos and live blog
"I can categorically rule that one out," Harley told SEN regarding the prospect of May being at the Swans next year.
"There was interest (in Moore) certainly early and we spoke to his manager, but it was hard to get a gauge on him throughout the year.
TRADE TRACKER See every move as it happens
"There hasn’t been any progress. It looks like he is staying there so I can’t see that happening."
The Swans are embracing the likely departures of midfielder Dan Hannebery and forward Gary Rohan.
Hannebery, who has played 208 games for the Swans, has requested a trade to St Kilda, while Harley shed light on the two clubs' ongoing negotiations.
"We have been in constant dialogue with St Kilda now and they have been pretty vocal in wanting to take their first pick to the draft," Harley said.
INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER Your club's picks
"They don’t have many picks in the middle range, but they do have future picks and players. So, we are working our way through that at the minute. It is all pretty open and transparent. We will work with St Kilda to make sure it works best for us."
While Harley says the Swans plan to be active during the NAB AFL Trade Period, he denied reports May or GWS star Dylan Shiel were in their sights.
WHO'S LEAVING YOUR CLUB? All the latest retirements and delistings
"(The Shiel trade) won’t happen," Harley said.
"We have had a couple of players declare their interest and we are happy to explore that in Hannebery and Rohan.
"Our focus throughout the year was to sign some of our priority players that were out of contract in Jake Lloyd, Allir Aliir and Sam Naismith towards the end of the year.
"We are still absolutely planning on being active during the Trade Period, but I would be surprised if it was one of those big fish."
WHEN DOES TRADE PERIOD START? All the key dates
Harley confirmed the Swans' interest in attracting Aaron vandenBerg away from the Dees, who grew up in Sydney.
Sidelined for the majority of 2018 due to a stress fracture in his heel, vandenBerg showed strong adversity to inject himself back into the senior team where he featured in the Demons' preliminary final loss to eventual premier West Coast.
"We have been open to exploring that and had a conversation with Aaron," Harley said.
"It’s not often as a Sydney club that you get a bit of the go-home factor coming your way, its typically the other way.
"We have been liaising with Melbourne around that so if we could facilitate something that would be great. There is a lot of water to pass under the bridge but that is one that we have shown an interest in for sure."
Furthermore, Roo Ryan Clarke and Hawk Taylor Duryea have both been linked to Sydney over the past month and Harley confirmed his club’s interest in the duo.
"Hopefully we can get something done with North (for Clarke) early on in the Trade Period," he said.
"Duryea is obviously a free agent at the Hawks at the moment. We were out of the finals earlier than we have been in the past and we used that opportunity to have a look and talk to a few players - he was one of them.
"Nothing has progressed at a great speed with that, but he certainly has been a player of interest."
