ESSENDON CEO Xavier Campbell expects the club to appoint its captain by mid-February.

The on-field leadership at Essendon has been a open question since the return of 10 senior players from anti-doping suspensions, with former captain Jobe Watson, next-generation leader Dyson Heppell and 2016 skipper Brendon Goddard all genuine contenders.

Young midfielder Zach Merrett also impressed with his leadership in 2016, and captained the side late last season in Goddard's absence.

Campbell said the decision would be driven largely by a player vote and the preferred candidate would be submitted to the board within the month.

"They're working through that process now and it's obviously a player-led process, just like it was last year," he told SEN radio. 

"It's something that Woosha's run successfully in this time at West Coast. The players will vote over the next week or so, the coaches will have some input and I expect probably early to mid-February, we'd expect to have a recommendation that's been provided to the board for endorsement.

"There's a process; there's a number of players who will be able to put their hand up and say they could genuinely lead the football club with the skills that they've got.

"Jobe is certainly one of those players; time will tell. We'll wait and see what happens in that process."

A changing of the guard appears likely after the anti-doping saga took a huge toll on Watson, who was the public face of the players throughout the tortuous investigation.

Heppell was vice-captain under Watson in 2015 and said in September last year that captaining the Bombers would be the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Meanwhile, Worsfold said in November that he would not rule Watson of the running after a summer training with his teammates.