GEELONG champion Patrick Dangerfield would welcome Jack Watts to the club with open arms and is confident the Demon forward's best football is still ahead.
Watts has two years to run on a three-year deal at Melbourne, but coach Simon Goodwin has encouraged the No.1 pick in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft to look elsewhere.
The Cats emerged on Friday as the 26-year-old's newest suitor, with Port Adelaide, Sydney and Collingwood already among a growing pack.
"He's certainly someone whose best footy is as good as anyone in the competition," Dangerfield told NAB AFL Trade Radio of Watts.
"I think he's arguably one of the best finishers in the game. When he gets the ball inside 50, you basically back him to finish the goal.
"It was interesting listening to a few comments from Melbourne-based personnel that, perhaps, he hasn't quite reached his potential.
"I think he has enormous potential to continue to get better and I have a strong belief that players play their best footy between 26 and 30 … so someone like Jack certainly, I think, is appealing for quite a few clubs, not just Geelong."
The Cats loom as a major player in the exchange period, with Steven Motlop, Daniel Menzel and maybe even Darcy Lang on the move, while Gary Ablett jnr, Jake Stringer and Watts are potentially incoming.
Motlop is a free agent and linked with both South Australian clubs and the Gold Coast.
"He's got to make sure that he looks after his best interests and I'll support him with whatever that decision might be," Dangerfield said.
"He's been a great servant of the footy club, but he's got a decision to make, because there's more than just footy that comes into these sorts of calculations."
Dangerfield, who left Adelaide after eight seasons in 2015, has also taken an interest in the harsh reaction to Jake Lever's decision to depart the Crows.
"I think from a coverage perspective, we're heading towards that American style, (but) from an in-house perspective, I think we are a long way away from it," he said.
"I think the maturity around players making these decisions isn't there yet … as more players do it, the industry will become more accustomed to it.
"Whenever a player leaves an organisation – unless they've been there for a really long period of time and contributed premierships and otherwise – there's always going to be a certain amount of distaste in the current organisation and the supporters that are there.
"It is a really difficult decision to make to leave a football club, because you understand the criticism that will come with it and The Simpsons-esque mob with flames at different stages."
